Fear
by Devil917
Summary: A girl being brutally abused by her father turns to someone in the gang for help. Little did he know how much pain he was going to be in for helping.LAST CHAPTER! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

_**OKAY , SO THIS WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT POPPED INSIDE OF MY HEAD TODAY . I KNOW THAT I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF WRITING ANOTHER STORY BUT I THINK I CAN HANDLE IT . MY OTHER TWO STORIES ARE TAKEN AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME. CHECK THEM OUT IF YOUHAVEN ALREADY . LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT........**_

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"Don't ever talk back to me like that again!" yelled my Dad . He was drunk again . His words were slurred and his balance was uneven . Still , he overpowered my by a ton . His hands have a tight grp on my wrists .

"Daddy....." I say in a soft voice . Slowly I move away into the back of the room. I try to hold my hands up to shield my face even though I knew it was no match for my father's punches .

"I said don't talk!"he shrieked . His huge hand came crashing down on me . I cried out and fell to the floor . I hear Dad laugh wildly and I can feel the enjoyment he's getting out of this . He always does .

We were in my room . All of the lights were turned off . All of the doors were locked . I have no way out . Now crawling on the floor I try to get away . I feel a hard kick to my ribs. My hand immediately grabs it and I fall over in pain .

"Daddy please . . ."I whimper through clenched teeth . He doesn't stop though . More powerful punches and kicks go to my chest , ribs and a couple to my head . I plead over and over for him to stop . I need him to stop.

"Get up bitch!!"yells Daddy and I try my best to get up . I grab my stomach with one hand and pushed myself to my knees with the other . My Dad chuckled as he watched me struggle to support myself .

I don't look up at him . I can't . Whenever he's like this , there is an unimaginable look of hate in his eyes . I can't stand to see that . My Dad is the worst person when he's drunk . He's mad , he yells , he hits me , and he blames me for all of the bad things that has ever happened to him . If he has a bad day at work , he takes it all out on me . But when he's sober he's the nicest person you could ever meet . He's so full of life .

"Come on Amanda , you worthless slut ! Get up!"

I cry harder but I do my best to not let him see it . If he does , he'll hit me again .

Even though it hurts much to move , I push myself up into a standing position .

"Look at me."commands my father . I don't ; I can't.

He places a firm hand under my chin . He forces me to look straight into his eyes .

"You're so fucking ugly. Just like your mother." says Daddy . He turns my head from side to side , examining me. I look down at the floor and try to believe that this was just a dream . That this wasn't happening again .

My father lets go of my chin and walks away . He moves to the corner of the room and grabs the Whiskey bottle that sat on my desk. He takes a huge gulp out of it , wipes his mouth and stumbles back over to me.

_Please don't hit me again . Please._ I thought to myself as I fought back tears .

"You're worthless . . . . . pitiful . . . . . A BITCH!!"

He punched me in my stomach then once in my face . I fell to the ground in pain .

I heard footsteps. He was leaving . When I heard the door completely close I ran for the window. As carefully as possible I swing my leg over and slide down the side of the house . I try to ignore the pain in my ribs as it gets pressed the side of the house .

When I finally reach the bottom I am breathless but I run down the street anyway .

Huffing and puffing I round the corner . I feel lightheaded but I continue to run . I come to a streetlight . I slide down the pole and close my eyes .

I hope I never go home again.

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_**SO THAT WAS THE FIRST CHAPTER . I HOPE YOU LIKED IT . TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK . SHOULD I CONTINUE ? SHOULD I STOP? WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD HAPPEN . ( AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW , SHE'S NOT GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH ANYONE IN THE GANG)**_

_**THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT , PLEASE REVIEW!,**_

_**VFCGURL!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**THANKS FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS. THEY ARE REALLY APPRECIATED. IT GIVES ME INSPIRATION TO KEEP WRITING THESE STORIES THAT I HOPE YOU ENJOY. HERE'S CHAPTER TWO...........**_

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"Hey buddy check this out."says Steve as he does a back flip off the counter in the DX. Behind the counter, Soda laughs. Steve stumbles into the rack of chips. He falls flat on his back.

"You gotta stop doing that stuff. You're going to kill yourself one day."warned Soda as he walked around the corner to help him up.

Outside there is a car pulling into the gas station.

Soda looks at the clock. It reads 9:56 p.m. Usually they would have closed at six but for this past week, George, the manager/owner, wants to stay open late. Now they close at ten. Darry wasn't too happy about that when Soda told him. He wasn't thrilled about Soda walking home in the dark but after Soda told him that it would help because he would be getting paid for the extra hours, he loosened up.

"Who the hell comes to a gas station at ten o'clock at night."whines Steve. He angrily pushes open the transparent door out to the black Mustang waiting.

Inside of the DX, the telephone began to ring. Soda answered it, "DX Gas Station, Sodapop speaking." That's the way he was told to answer. George got upset with him the last time because he answered it, "Who is it?"George said that it wasn't proper. Soda though it was just fine.

"Soda, where are you?"asked the voice. It was Darry .

Soda let out a sigh. He was still treating him like he was twelve. Soda is sixteen years old and felt like he should be treated that way.

"Darry, we close at ten, it takes fifteen minutes to close up and six minutes to get home. I'm coming as soon as Steve gets down with this car," reluctantly answers Soda.

"You better be home by 10:45 or I'm coming to hunt you down."remarked Darry on the other line.

"Don't worry. No need for hunting. I'll be home by 10:37 on the dot."

"You better. Don't stop for anything, do you hear me Sodapop. No parties, no drag races, no trying to pick up girls. Straight home. Understand?"barked Darry.

Soda began to get aggravated but refused to let it show. "All right Darry. I won't go with big crowds of happy people, I'll pretend that I don't know what a car is, and I'll tell every girl that I'm gay. Does that make you feel better?" asked Soda sarcastically with a wild grin on his face.

"Don't play. 10:37. Be home." He hung up.

_He must've had a rough _day.

Soon Steve returned. "Come on, lets close up."mumbles Steve as he walks into the back room to get the keys. Soda locks the cash register and makes sure all of the windows were closed. They took a quick inventory of all of the stuff that was sold, got their stuff, locked the door, and headed home.

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The two best friends rounded the corner of 23nd street.

"What time you gotta be home?"asked Steve.

"10:37."

"Damn, he keeps you on a short leach."

"Shut up Steve."

"Oh, down doggie. Good boy."teased Steve. He patted Soda on the head. Soda brushed his hand off.

"He just got more w-,"he stopped in the middle of his sentence. Soda stared forward down the street. Steve stopped, too but he didn't know what he was looking at.

Steve waved his hand in front of Soda's eyes.

"Hey buddy,you all right. I was just playing about the dog thing . . . "

Soda pointed down the road. As they walked closer, they spotted a girl who was bleeding against the street light, she held her ribs. Her eyes were closed.

"Is she alive?"questioned Steve.

Soda shrugged his shoulder, "I don't know, man. Go touch her."

"Hell no, what if she's dead and they find my prints on her."shot back Steve .

Soda sighed, walked over, bent down and shook her shoulder.

"Hey,"he said in a quiet voice. "Are you okay?"

At first the girl didn't move, suddenly her eyes popped open and she took off running down the street.

"Hey! Wait!"yelled Soda as he took off after her. Before he could get far Steve grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

"What the hell is wrong with you. Leave her alone. You can't go after her."says Steve.

Soda gets out of Steve's grip and shoots down the street into the darkness.

"What the hell am I going to tell Darry?" says Steve aloud.

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_**OKAY SO THAT WA CHAPTER TWO . WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD HAPPEN ? ANY TIPS , QUESTIONS , COMMENTS , OR SUGGESTIONS? **_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!........**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**ONCE AGAIN , THANKS FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS . KEEP 'EM COMING. ANYWAY , HERE'S CHAPTER THREE.............**_

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"Hey wait up!"yelled Soda . He wasn't expecting her to run off like that . He was close to her . He reached his hand out and grabbed the back of her shirt .

"Hey , I just want to help."he says . The girls stops . Without warning her right hand comes across his face . The sting stunned him for a second . Before he had time to react she began her getaway again.

Soda took a coupe of steps and he was right by her side again . "Just stop. I want to help you . I'm not going to hurt you."he told her .

The girl stopped running . Her breathing was ragged and she held her ribs in pain .

"Are you okay?"asks Soda.

"I'm fine."she replied bitterly.

"What happened to you?"

"None of you damn business!"she snapped .

Soda disregarded her outburst.

"Who did this to you?"

"I can't tell you."she replies , now her voice was soft .

"Can you tell me your name?"

At first she doesn't answer . Soda was about to go on to another question when she suddenly spoke up .

"My name in Amanda."

Soda nodded . He held his hand out to be shook by her .

"My name is Sodapop."he tells her . She giggles a little but stops when a zap of pain strikes her ribs . She shakes his hand and starts walking . This time she doesn't object to Soda walking along side of her .

In the darkness he can't see her too well but he can see that she had lang curly dark hair . She had a voice that can always be remembered and her hands are soft even though her body is so rough . Her skirt had dirt marks on it , so does her shirt .

"What can you tell me about you?" asks Soda.

Amanda looks down for a second the looks Soda straight in the eyes .

"Well, you know my name . I'm 16 years old ........... what else is there to know?"

"Do you live with your parents?"

"My mom died but I live with my dad . I hate him."

Soda stops walking . "Did he do this to you?"

Amanda doesn't answer .

"Why are we talking about me ? What about you?"

"What do you want to know?"

"How old are you?"

"16."

Amanda nods .

"Do you live with your parents?"she questions him.

Soda sighs a little .

"My parents died two years ago. I live with my older brother , Darry and my kid brother , Ponyboy."

"I'm sorry."she says .

"I'm sorry ,too . Have you ever had a brother like Ponyboy? All he does is read . It can't be healthy for him to read that much."says Soda with a smile .

"I wasn't talking about you brother . I meant that I'm sorry about your parents."she tells him .

Soda nods. "I know . I just don't like getting apologies about their death . God just had something better for them up there in heaven."

Amanda doesn't say anything .

"Do you have a place to sleep tonight?"says Soda.

"Yeah."

"You sure , I mean I know my brother wouldn't mind if you slept at our house tonight."insists Soda .

"It okay , and the last thing I want to do is sleep with you."

Soda laughs .

"You dig okay."he says to her .

They continue walking.

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Steve opens the door to the Curtis house .

"Where the hell have yo-,"begins Darry . He suddenly stops when he realizes that it's not Soda walking through the door .

"Where's Soda?"asks Two-Bit. He's sitting on the couch . Steve was going to ask him what he was doing here so late but he figured that this wasn't the best time.

"Oh.... hey Darry."rambles Steve . "You see Soda ...... he's - he;'s ...... um . He's alright."

"Where is he?"demands Darry.

Steve backs up a little .

"Hey , easy there Superman . He's with a girl."

"Damn it ,Soda."whispers Darry .

"What girl?"

"I don't exactly know . She ran before I could see her face .

"Okay."he breathed

Darry walked to the door and grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.

Steve and Two-Bit followed.

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"Oh shit! What time is it?"asked Soda.

Amanda shrugged.

"I gotta get home. My brother is going to kill me!"he exclaimed.

"Go."stated Amanda with no emotion at all.

Soda began to go when he suddenly stopped. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need anything , I'm here. Okay?"

"Whatever."she says.

Soda chuckled a little.

He ran off back towards his house. Hoping that Darry wouldn't kill him.


	4. Chapter 4

_**ONCE AGAIN , THANKS FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS , THEY ARE REALLY APPRECIATED . HERE'S CHAPTER FOUR..........**_

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"Damn it , Steve!"yelled Darry . He pounded his hand on the steering wheel in frustration . Cautiously he looked left and right in search for Soda . Steve didn't say anything , he knew that he could have stopped Soda from going after that girl . The guilt was eating him up inside.

_What if something happened to him? Darry'll kill me before I have a chance to kill myself for letting him go _, thought Steve .

Two-Bit sat in the front with Darry . He too looked around for him . He hasn't looked at Steve once . The tension in the car was thick , everyone was nervous .

"Which way did you say he went?"asked Two-Bit . He turned around in the seat to look Steve dead in the eye .

Steve sighed . " I told you already , he went down 23rd street after that girl . I don't know which way they turned , cuz I couldn't see them in the dark."

"Well I don't see him anywhere,"answered Two-Bit as he turned back around and faced forward .

Steve thought for a second, "Maybe he's home already,"he suggested .

"Maybe the Soc's got him,"mumbled Ponyboy in a scared voice. He still stared out the window , he didn't look at anyone .

Darry slammed his hand again . "Goddamn it Ponyboy! Don't talk like that , you hear?"barked Darry as he gripped the steering wheel tighter . Ponyboy didn't say anything , he just continued to stare out the car window.

_Soda, where are you?_

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Soda turned the corner back on to 23rd street . He saw headlights of a car slowly coming down the road. It didn't take him long to realize that it was Darry and some of the gang .

"There he is!"he heard someone call out . It sounded like Ponyboy . The car picked up speed and soon it was right next to him .

Everyone jumped out . Ponyboy was the first one over . He hugged Soda , soon Darry joined in .

Steve and Two-Bit were close by but didn't join in on the hug .

"Where the _hell_ were you?"demanded Darry .

"I was helping someone,"answered Soda . He put his head down . He didn't want to look at Darry right now .

"What's wrong with you !? You didn't think , Sodapop!"

Soda sighed . "I know , I'm sorry Darry,"he said

"I know you know and that's why I'm upset!"

"I'm sorry,"Soda says again.

"Darry."calls Two-Bit , "Come on."

Darry sighs and begins to walk back to the car. Soda and the rest of the gang follow .

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_**I KNOW THIS CHAPTER WAS SHORT BUT I JUST WANTED TO SHOW HOW THEY FOUND SODA. HOPE YOU LIKED IT ...................**_

_**THE NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE UP IN A DAY OR SO .................**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW............................**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**OKAY EVERYONE......FIRST OFF I HAVE TO SAY SORRY ABOUT THE LAST CHAPTER. I NOW KNOW THAT I MADE DARRY AND PONYBOY OUT OF CHARACTER. I WASN'T EXACTLY SURE HOW DARRY WOULD REACT. I DIDN'T KNOW IF HE'S BE MAD BECAUSE SODA DIDN'T LISTEN, OR HE'D BE HAPPY BECAUSE HE WAS OKAY. ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED AND RECOGNIZED MY MISTAKE. **_

_**THANK-YOU, HERE'S CHAPTER FIVE...........................**_

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Amanda limped down the street . The only light came from the street light on the side of the road. Holding her ribs with one hand, she wiped her eyes with the other one. It seemed strange for Amanda to cry, since she hadn't done it in so long. It became something unfamiliar to her. She told herself for years that she wouldn't cry again.

"Why the hell are you acting like this? Your being a wimp!"said Amanda to herself .She hated crying , she hated feeling weak or powerless. Those were all of the names that her father would call her when he's drunk . She promised herself that she would prove him wrong. She would not be a wimp , she would not cry. But now she couldn't understand why she was doing it now.

"Come on , Amanda. Toughen up!"she commanded as he vigorously wiped her tears away, but they only came faster and faster. Why wouldn't they stop?

She sat down on the curb and took deep breaths. She fanned herself with her hand as she tried to calm herself down. She rocked back and forth and brushed her long brown hair out of her face.

"Okay. Okay."she whispered to herself. She gradually felt her heart beat return to normal . She continued with deep breaths until she was sure not another tear would make it's way down her face.

This isn't the first time Amanda's father hit her . He did it every time he was drunk; which was becoming more and more often. Sometimes he did it when he wasn't drunk. He hit her when she got a "B" on a test when he wanted an "A". He'd hit her if she wasn't home on the exact time he told her to be. He'd hit her if he felt she had ate too much during the day . He'd hit her for anything, sometimes for no reason.

Amanda has never told anyone about it . Someone almost found out once when she was in eighth grade . They had told the guidance counselor and Amanda had to go and see her for three weeks before she could convince her that nothing was wrong. Amanda had thought she should have told some one, should have said what he was doing to her . But she can't bring the words to escape her mouth.

Placing both hands on the ground she forced herself up . As soon as she did she felt an overwhelming feeling. Something she couldn't explain. She felt a warmness behind her eyes and suddenly realized what it was again. The tears were back . They slid down her face so fast you would think they were running from her eyes. This time Amanda slapped them off her face . She cursed in frustration.

"What the hell!?"Amanda exclaimed . He face turned red as she pushed the wetness off her face. She stomped her feet hard on the ground . Why was this happening to her?

"Why the hell are you crying. This isn't the first fucking time he's done this! You never cried before!"

Amanda felt multiple stabs in her ribs from her yelling and she began to try even harder which only brought more pain. That only got Amanda more upset with herself.

"GODDAMN IT!"she screeched . Then she immediately grabbed her stomach.

Feeling defeated, she took a seat on the curb.

She placed her face in her hands and welcomed the tears.

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_**OKAY SO THAT WAS CHAPTER FIVE. DID YOU LIKE IT? YOU GOT TO KNOW AMANDA A LITTLE AND SEE HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT HERSELF AND ABOUT THE ABUSE SHE'S BEEN GOING THROUGH...............**_

_**IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION, SUGGESTIONS, OR SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN , PLEASE TELL ME . I WANT TO MAKE THIS STORY SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE CAN ENJOY. **_

_**PLEASE REVIEW................................**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**WELL.....THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM. I ALSO WANT YOUR OPINION AND FOR YOU TO TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT..................**_

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Pushing herself up from the ground Amanda walked down the street. The tears had just stopped and she figured that she should get moving before they start again.

Her ribs hurt like something you couldn't imagine. But it was beginning to feel better. Her head pounded , any sound irritated her brain. The night was cool and had a breeze now and again , but Amanda felt hot. She didn't know if it was the anger boiling up inside of her or something was wrong. She tried her best to ignore it as she continued to walk.

She had been warned by the very few friends that she had not to walk at night . The Soc's were really out for blood . Amanda didn't think that they would actually attack her , but they might make some nasty comments.

Amanda looked around from left to right . There were two boys on the corner . None of them had jackets in the chilling night air. Both had a close shaved head and blue jeans. They both also wore madras's . So Amanda figured they were "Soc's". Amanda was aware of the two major gangs in Tulsa . The Greasers and The Soc's. They both didn't like each other, never did , never will. As for Amanda , she didn't classify herself as any. She wasn't rich enough to be a Soc but wasn't poor enough to be a Greaser. She didn't wear the fanciest clothes , but they weren't trash either. Amanda is her own person and nothing else .

She never really had friends . Most called her weird and never spoke to her again . Some actually stayed with her . Her two only friends are Megan and Susan. They came over her house when ever Amanda's father wasn't home . That was the only time they had to hang out together because Amanda's father never let her go out.

Amanda suddenly froze in the middle of the street

She saw someone driving down the street but the car looked far too familiar . It was .........it was.........she couldn't tell just yet . As the car pulled up closer , she wished she could disappear. It was her father , sitting drunk in the drivers seat.

"Where the hell do you think you're going ? Get you ass in the car!" barked Amanda's Dad. He slammed his fist down on the horn .

_**BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!**_ Went the car.

Amanda jumped a little from the sudden noise . She really didn't want to get in the car but feared that she had no other choice.

She sat down in the car and prepared for the hits she was going to get when she got home.

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Amazingly they got home in one piece . Amanda had to squeeze her eyes shut a couple of times , when she was sure her father was going to crash the car.

He tightly grabbed her arm and threw her in the front door . Her head hit with it with a bang . She threw her hand up too late to stop it . Her father grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her away. He opened the door and pushed her it .

With all his force she went flying across the room and into the coffee table in the center of the Living Room.

"Owwww!" she whimpered in pain . The legs of the table broke as he mad contact with it . Before she knew it , her father was right above her . His whole body smelled of beer , sweat dripped down his face like he just ran a marathon . He stood above her and breathed deeply.

"Get up."he said to her.

Amanda forced herself up , she tried to ignore the pain in her stomach and in her head. When she finally stood on her two feet, the world tipped and turned right before her eyes. She focused hard to make it steady.

"Go to bed. I don't even want to see you fucking face." he snicked .

Without another word, Amanda went to her room and turned all four locks on.

She cried herself to sleep.

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_**OKAY SO OF COURSE I HAVE TO ASK YOU TO REVIEW. I THINK THIS STORY IS GOING A LITTLE SLOW SO IF YOU WANT ME TO SPEED IT UP A LITTLE THEN PLEASE TELL ME. **_

_**PLEASE REVIEW..........NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE UP SOON.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**HEY GUYS! I AM SO SO SO SOOOOO SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH I ACTUALLY FORGOT THAT I WAS WRITING THIS STORY BECAUSE I WAS SO CAUGHT UP IN TRYING TO UPDATE MY OTHER STORY **_**THE WORST IT YET TO COME**_** , PLEASE CHECK IT OUT IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.**

**ANYWAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO DID REVIEW AND PLEASE ENJOY THE NEXT CHAPTER. **

Amanda woke up with a major headache. She slowly lifter her head from her pillow and looked at the clock next to her bed. The time was 10:34 a.m.

_I can't believe I slept that late._ She thought to herself.

Amanda walked across her bedroom floor and headed for the bathroom. There hanging on the outside of her door was a note from her father. It read:

Come to my job around six o'clock. See you then.

_Why does he want me to come to his job?_ She thought to herself. Even though her father had worked there of as long as he could remember, she had never really been there. She had been inside a couple of times after it was all closed up but never during the day when the customers are there.

_Whatever, _she thought .

With a sigh she headed for the bathroom.

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"You know , I think that Diane girl really likes me," stated Steve to Soda.

Soda chuckled.

"Who are you trying to fool, Steve? She can't stand you!" he responded with a smile. He patted Steve on the back.

Steve looked at him skeptically.

"How do you know she can't stand me? She can't keep her hands off me. You've seen her, she always touching me. She thinks I'm sexy." Steve ran his hand through his grease filled hair in the most flirtatious way he could and licked his lips.

Soda broke out into laughter. He leaned over and grabbed his stomach. He couldn't stop. When he caught his breath again he began to talk.

"Buddy," he started. He placed his hand on Steve's shoulder and looked at his sympathetically. "Diane _hates_ you, you get it? She has said it to you many times, she h_ates_ you guts. And she isn't always touching you, you're always touching her, okay. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't think you sexy in any type of way. If anything she thinks you're disgusting." Soda talked real slow, like he was talking to a child.

"No, no, no, you listen. The way she's always slappin' me and tellin' me to get away from her is just her way of saying that she loves me," stated Steve. He smiled. "And how could she not want me?" he ran his hand over his body. "Look at me, man. I'm irresistible!"

Soda did all he could to keep a straight face but found it impossible.

"What are you laughing at, huh? Don't you think I'm sexy Soda?" asked Steve.

Soda couldn't help but laugh. He pushed Steve playfully.

"Get back to work!" ordered Soda with a laugh.

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Amanda walked past the cars and through the door at her father's gas station.

It was beginning to get dark. No one was really at the gas station. Amanda heard some one talking in the garage but didn't bother to see who it is .

"Well, our shift is over, you ready to go?" she heard someone ask.

"Yeah, I just gotta talk to George about coming in late tomorrow."

"Why? You got a hot date?"

She heard someone laugh.

"No, Pony's got a track meet early in the morning and he wants me to be there."

"Oh, alright. Do you want me to wait?"

"Um, no, I'll be all right. It's not that dark."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go, I'll be okay."

"All right. See ya, buddy."

Amanda walked into the gas station, and knocked on the door to her father's office.

"Come in," he father called. She could hear that his voice was slurred from on the other side of the door.

Slowly she opened it.

"Oh, it's you." He humbled, then took another gulp of Whiskey.

"You wanted to see me?" Amanda asked in a small voice.

"No I didn't," her father stated. "I never want to see you,"

He stood up.

"Come on, we're leaving. I'll drive you home."

Amanda looked at him with a shocked expression.

"Dad, you're drunk." She said quietly.

"So wh-," he started but was cut off by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" asked George. He still tried to make his way to the door.

"Soda," the voice said.

George moved to the door which was blocked by Amanda.

"Move."

She didn't budge. She had tears running lightly down her face.

"I said MOVE!"

George pushed her hard. She flew forward and crashed into his desk. She knocked down everything .

Soda come running in when he heard the noise.

"Hey George are you alri-," he stopped when he spotted Amanda on the desk, crying.

George pushed Soda up against the wall.

"What the hell is your problem?!Did I say that you can come in?!I'm trying to have a talk with my daughter and you're interrupting!"

"Dad don't," pleaded Amanda. She lifted herself off the desk and grabbed her father's arm. She was afraid that he could hit Soda.

George back slapped Amanda. It made her go flying across the room.

By now Soda was confused. He didn't know what was really happening but he did know that you never hit a girl. That was one thing he remembered that his father told him. Soda knew that even though he didn't know this girl he sure as hell had to protect her.

Soda grabbed George by his shoulders and slammed him to the wall.

"George what the hell did you hit her for!?" he asked.

George punched Soda and grabbed Amanda.

"Come on," he grunted. He gripped his huge hand around her wrist and violently pulled her off the desk.

Before they were completely out the door Soda yanked George's grip off her. With a quick spin George turned around and pushed Soda back into the office and this time it was his turn to fly into the desk.

Soda didn't give up though. He quickly shook off the pain and headed after Grorge and Amanda. He must have taken longer than he thought because by the time he followed them through the store and out the front door they were already in the car and heading off the gas station lot.

"What the hell just happened?" thought Soda out loud.


	8. Chapter 8

**HEY EVERYBODY! I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER UPDATE! SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS STORY IN A WHILE BUT EVERYBODY KEPT TELLING ME TO UPDATE "THE WORST IS YET TO COME", SO I DID. NOW EVERYBODY WAS TELLING ME TO UPDATE THIS STORY SO I AM. PLEASE ENJOY……..**

"Get it!" yelled George. He opened his door and motioned with his hand for Amanda to do the same. She did as she was told but she didn't trust her father one bit and was pretty sure that she was going to die tonight.

She stood there, longer than her father liked. Her breath came in quivering gasps. Her hand holding the door handle, but she won't open it.

"Get in, damn it!" he yelled again. In a nervous reaction to the shouting, she quickly opened the door and plopped herself in the passenger seat. She felt the jerk of the car pull her forward and she almost hit her head on the airbag in front of her.

The windows were open and the night air hit her from both sides. Her dark brown hair slapped her in the face. Amanda covered her eyes, too afraid to look at the road they were driving on.

Every once in a while she could feel the car begin to slow down but it always picked up speed soon after. Peeping through her fingers, she looked up at her enraged father. He crazily stared at the street. His hands gripped the steering wheel and he leaned forward in his seat.

In the cup holder between them sat two beers that her father drank from as he drove. Whenever he did that, his eyes would come off the road and they would swerve out of their lane for a second or two before returning to the correct lane.

After a long silence George finally spoke.

"You know Soda?" he asked. With is right hand he reached out for the beer bottle. He placed it on his lips and when he realized that he had drunk it all he grunted a little and tossed it out the window. Amanda heard the cracking sound of the bottle as it hit the floor and immediately after she heard the honking of the cars behind them.

Amanda now buried her head in her hands, embarrassed that this was the man that she called father. Suddenly, she felt a heavy hand make contact with her head. It hit so hard that her head bolted forward and she heard a popping sound followed by a shock of pain.

"I believe I asked you question," George says looking over at Amanda.

Fighting back the urge to cry, she sucked in a huge mouthful of air before answering.

"No," she lied.

George thought for a second. "You better not be lying to me," he finally decided on saying.

Amanda didn't answer, she just nodded even though it hurt like hell to even move but she knew that she had to show him some kind of understanding or her was going to hit her again.

George fixed his eyes back on the road.

Red and blue lights reflected in the glass windshield. George looked up into the rearview window.

"Shit!"

Amanda lifts her head from her head. Looking back, she spots the cop car behind them. It is signaling for them to pull over.

Amanda couldn't help but smile.

_Maybe I'm finally free, _she thought to herself.

******^*******^******^******^******^******^*****^*****^****^*****^*****^

Soda walked up the street to his house. The more he walked, the more his stomach hurt, and the more he thought about what hurt, the more his head hurt.

"Okay," Soda said to himself out lout. "George it that girl's father, and George is my boss. George was hitting her when I walked in. He was drunk, too. Sooooo, George was the one who hurt what's-her-name when me and Steve found her."

He thought about everything that just happened. He thought about how angry George looked when he walked in the room. He thought about how scared and afraid the girl looked when Soda walked in. He thought about how much alcohol was scattered around the room when he entered.

"How could I have not seen it earlier?" questioned Soda to himself as he thought about George. He did drink a lot, but Soda never really thought much of it.

"So George is an alcoholic. Wow….," Soda was quiet for a second.

"Why am I talking to myself?!"

"Because this is confusing as hell, that's why!" he answered himself.

_Oh shit, I'm crazy!_, thought Soda. He ran his hand through his hair and jumped at the quick pain he felt when his hand brushed his forehead. He retracted his hand and looked at it. There was smeared blood on his finger tips.

"I'm bleeding," he said a loud he rubbed the blood on his shirt, not caring if it got dirty.

_When did I hit my head? I don't remember hitting my head. Oh shit! I am crazy!_, he screamed in his head.

Unconsciously, he ran his hand through his head again.

"Damn it!" he yelled when his hit his cut again.

Soda stopped on the sidewalk. He took in a deep breath, and when he realized how crazy he looked walking down the street, talking to himself, and cursing at no one he began to laugh.

**^**^**^***^**^**^*^*

Soda entered his house. Darry was seated in the living room, flipping through the channels, trying to find something good on T.V. when he heard the screen door swing open then the door open.

"Hey Soda," greeted Darry. He didn't look away from the television.

Soda covered the side of his head, still unsure if he should tell Darry about what happened out just try to figure it out himself.

"Uh, hey Darry," responded Soda. He pretended that he was scratching the side of his head.

Darry looked up. He scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Are you okay?" he asked, he stood up from his chair and walked over to Soda.

Quickly, Soda backed up but suddenly stopped when he hit the wall.

Darry chuckled. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Are you_ sure_ that you're okay?" Darry took a step closer.

Soda nodded, he still didn't take his hand from his head.

"Put your hand down," gently ordered Darry. He reached up and grabbed for his hand.

"Well, good-night Darry. You know, today was long so I'm just gonna go to b-," said Soda trying to change the subject. Before he even had a chance to finish his sentence, Darry removed his hand from his head.

Soda seen Darry's eyes widen a little.

"What happened to you? You get in a fight?" he asked.

Soda shrugged. "Something like that." He tried to move away from the corner but Darry blocked his way.

"A Soc'?"

"No."

"A Greaser?" asked Darry with a little more emotion.

"No."

Darry let out an aggravated deep breath. "Soda, who did this to you?"

"I don't know," lied Soda.

Darry thought for a second.

"Anything else hurt?" asked Darry.

"My stomach and my side a little," answered Soda with is head down. He hated to lie to Darry about what happened but he had to. If Darry found out that George did this to him then he'd make him quit, then they wouldn't have money and Soda couldn't watch Darry struggle to make extra money. He was already stressed as it is. Soda didn't want to worry him anymore that he had to.

"Well, go get cleaned up and we'll talk about this in the morning," said Darry. He didn't really know what else to say.

Without a word, Soda stepped from the corner and walked down the hallway.

**OKAY, SO THAT WAS CHAPTER 8. I HAPE THAT YOU ENJOYED IT. IN YOUR REVIEW COULD YOU TELL ME IF YOU THOUGHT THAT DARRY REACTED APPROPRATELY, BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE ABOUT HOW HE WOULD ACTE WHEN HE FOUND OUT SO COULD YOU TELL ME HOW YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE ACTED SO I KNOW BETTER FOR NEXT TIME. **

**ANYWAY, PLEASE REVIEW WITH QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, SUGGESTONS , OR PERDICTIONS FOR FURTHER CHAPTERS.**

**THAK YOU. **

**I'LL UPDATE WHEN I CAN!**


	9. Chapter 9

**HEY EVERYONE, READERS AND REVIEWERS. TODAY IS THE OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, AND I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH THAT I DECIDED TO UPDATE TODAY WHEN I REALLY SHOULD BE SLEEPING. ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED THE LAST CHAPTER AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS ONE.**

Slowly, Ponyboy moves under Soda's arm. The room is dead silent, nothing moved at all. Outside a few birds singed and the wind blew slightly, but it was just simply a peaceful morning. Inside, the two brothers slept, but only one slept with ease. Pony's breathing is calm and slow while Soda's was fast and painful. Even while sleep, he still felt the pain in his ribs from falling into the desk; he felt the pain in his head, too. He would have turned over, but he knew that moving would wake up Pony. Soda would rather Ponyboy have a better night of sleep than he did, in one way or another it was worth it.

In his own bedroom Darry began to wake as he knew that his alarm was due to go off soon. Right now he lay there, looking up at the ceiling, preparing himself for whatever the day had in store for him. Eventually he came to the conclusion that he had to get up from bed, so he did so before he changed his mind.

Placing his two feet on the ground he felt the cold break through the warmness that surrounded his body. Sighing, he opened his door and headed down the hallway to wake his brothers for another day of work and school. Darry walked past the Living Room and spotted someone on the couch. Stopping for a second he made sure he recognized the person before continued on his way. Darry moved closer when he saw their hair gleaming with grease, he wore a blue shirt and a black leather-like jacket. On the floor beside him was a beer.

Two-bit, thought Darry before turning around and heading for Pony and Soda's room.

Darry pushes open the door. Both are sleeping, both look tired. Darry makes his way into the room; he placed his hand on Pony's shoulder and shakes him. He calls out for him, tells him it's time to wake up.

"Ponyboy. Sodapop. Come on, time to wake up. Pony, you got school. Soda, you gotta work today," says Darry. He shakes them again and slowly they begin to wake. Soda removes his arm from around Pony's shoulder and turns over on his back and sighs. Pony rolls toward Darry and pushed himself up into a sitting position on the side of the bed. He rubs his eyes sleepily, trying to wake himself up.

"Alright, hurry up," states Darry before he leaves the room.

***^***^***^***^***^***^***^***^***^

Pony just got out of the shower a couple of minutes ago and now Soda just entered. Usually the switch back and forth on who gets to take their shower first. Today was supposed to be Soda's turn to go first but he insisted that Pony go first today and that he'll take his turn another day.

"You sure Soda?" he asks.

"Yeah I'm sure, now hurry up and take yours' before you make us both late.

But that was fifteen minutes ago. Now Ponyboy is out and getting dressed in their room while Soda moved into the shower. Soda moved slow, holding his side as he walked, he tried not to make it obvious that he was in pain, because he knew that he would only draw attention to himself; then Darry would worry even more about him.

Stepping inside of the bathroom, Soda closed the door behind him. He placed his towel on the edge of the sink. He stared in the mirror and looked at himself. His face didn't look bad, beside the cut on the left side of his head, he looked the same. Too bad it felt like his brain was about to pop out of his skull. His head throbbed from sleeping on the side of his head with the gash on it. Gently, he tapped it. He sucked his teeth and scrunched his eyebrows together as soon as his hand made contact. The cut had become tender and sensitive.

Soda only had one more thing to survey before he went in the shower. With full awareness of all the pain he might feel, he lifted his shirt slowly. He tried to make sure that his shirt nor his hand brush the sides of his midsection. When his shirt was finally off, he looked at himself in the mirror. He took a step back to see his stomach and sides more clear. The whole right side of him, from his nipple to his waist, was red and discolored.

He took in a deep breath, anxiously he touched his bruises. He jerked forward in pain. He almost yelled, he quickly put his other hand to his mouth to keep him from making a sound. The pain shot up is body and then back down again. Soda leaned over and grabbed the edge of the sink. He gripped it tight as the pain continued.

Eventually, the pain stopped. He forced himself to stand up straight. Outside, Soda heard Darry talking to Pony and he knew that he had to hurry up and take his shower. Soda made his way to the shower and turned the handle. Water shot out of the shower head and scattered on the floor. Sodapop stepped into the water. Instantly, he felt tears swell in his eyes. The hot water felt like he was being scolded or burned alive as it pounded like bullets against his raw stomach.

Soda flew to the back of the shower, slamming his back into the tile. He grabbed his side in pain but it only caused it to hurt more.

"Ahhh," he whimpered helplessly, as he tried to stay quiet so his brothers won't become alarmed. Jumping out the shower, Soda made his way back over to the sink. He grabbed his towel and wiped his face. He was cautious of his cut. He made his may down the rest of his body but was clueless about what to do with his bruise that was killing him. It burned and sizzled like something you couldn't imagine.

_What am I going to do?_, thought Soda to himself. He made sure not to say anything out loud. He tried not to draw attention to himself. Taking the towel in the other hand, he wiped the side of his body that wasn't bruised and dried his lower body.

Before he got came into the bathroom, Soda made sure that he took his clothes in the bathroom with him so he wouldn't have to get dressed in front of anyone. Soda dressed the lower part of his body. He took in a huge deep breath and held it. Being as gentle as he could he tapped at his bruises. He bit his lower lip to ensure that he didn't make a sound.

When everything was all dry, Soda picked up his plain white shirt. He pulled it over his head as was careful not to have it touch his cut. Then, as softly as he could he layed his shirt over his abdomen like a blanket.

_That wasn't so bad_, he thought. He turned around and grabbed his DX shirt. Soda turned off the water to the shower, grabbed his towel and exited the bathroom.

_I don't know if I can handle this,_ thought Soda as he entered the kitchen and joined his brothers at the table.

***^***^***^***^***^***^***^***^***^

LAST NIGHT:

_Amanda saw the flashing lights of the cop behind them. He signaled for them to pull over. It took her dad a while to realize what was happening, but once he did, he sobered up a little. He readjusted himself in the driver's seat and cleared his throat. _

_Through clenched teeth he spoke, "Listen to me, and I'm only saying this once so you better listen good. One screw up and you're getting an ass whooping like you'll never imagine," he warned. His eyes were pitch black; his beer-breath sprayed straight into her face. She held her breath and didn't look him straight in the face. "Your mouth is going to stay shut, you understand? You don't say a word, not one word. Let me do allll the talking," he drug out all and brought his face closer to him. "Shut up," he finally decided on saying; then he straightened up just as the cop walked up to the window with a flashlight in his hand. _

_The light was bright and it Amanda's head wasn't down, she would have to squint just to look straight. _

_"Is there a problem, officer?" asked George. He tried to sound calm and innocent, like he had no idea why he got pulled over. _

_The cop didn't answer. Amanda saw the light being shown directly at her, then at her father, then back at her._

_"George? George Patterson? Man, what are you doing?" asked the cop. _

_Amanda's father looked at the cop and smiled. _

_"Well I'll be damned! Matthew! How you been?!" replied George. He slapped the steering wheel and gave a crazy laugh. _

_The cop smiled. "I've been good man, haven't seen you in a while, how are you?"_

_"Fine, just fine."_

_The cop laughed but then his face quickly changed to a serious look. "Are you drunk?" he asked. _

_George was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to answer. _

_"George get out the car, get in the back of mine. You too, miss," stated the cop._

_Amanda opened the door and made her way to the cop, who's eyes widened into the size of pizzas. _

_"Amanda!?" he said with a huge smile on his face. _

_Amanda nodded. "Hey Matt," she answered in a small voice. _

_"Little Amanda! I haven't seen you since you were this tall," he said happily. He held is hand out to represent the height of Amanda many years ago. _

_She smiled._

_"Come here, gimmie a hug," says Matt. He holds his arms out. _

_While in the hug, Matt whispers, "I won't take you dad to jail or anything like that. I'm going to drive both of you home, and you'll just have to have someone pick up you car tomorrow or whenever you can, okay?"_

_Amanda nods in disappointment. All Amanda wants to do right now is get away from her father._

_"I'm only doing this for you, though. Just make sure he sleeps this off and I'll check in on you tomorrow around noon."_

_She nods again. _

_"Now come on, I'll get you both home," says Matt as he places a hand on Amanda's back and leads her to the car. _

**I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE COMPUTER. AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP AND SUPPORT YOU GIVE ME. **

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW MY OTHER STORIES **_**TAKEN **_**AND THE SEQUEL TO IT, **_**THE WORST IS YET TO COME**_**. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT ON BOTH OF THOSE, TOO. **

**PLEASE REVIEW WITH ALL OF YOUR THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS. **

**THANK YOU,**

**YOUR AUTHOR,**

**VFCGurl!!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN A WHILE. I STILL KINDA HAVE A HUGE BRAIN BLOCK ON THIS STORY. I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO HAPPEN I JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT. I HOPE THAT MADE SENSE TO YOU. ANYWAY, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER…..**

**OH, YEAH, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'RE WONDERFUL REVIEWS…..**

**BUMLETS GIRL: **Good! Poor Amanda and Soda. How is Soda gona manage?

**FROGS : **aww, I didn't get to see whther or not he would lash out at her or not but good chap.

**SKYLA13 :**Awesome. Poor Amanda.

**KELSEY :**GREAT STORY :D I LOVE SODA HE IS MY HUSBAND LOLZ I LOVE SODA AND THE STORY IS REALLY AWESOME UPDATE

**MAJOR TWIHARD :**love the story! update soon.

**If your reviews weren't up here then they will be on the next chapter. Enjoy…**

"Really Pony? That's great," exclaims Darry from the other side of the table. Pony smiles at him. He sips his chocolate milk then continues , "Yeah, so now I'm in third place and my legs are killing me, but I keep going. The guy in first is looking tired and I know that I can take him, so I wait till we come to the turn; that's when I speed up, run as fast as I can. By the end of the turn me and him are right next to each other. He looks at me with this look on his face like he still thinks that he's gonna win. I laugh a little."

"Did you win?" asks Darry. He puts down his coffee mug and fixes himself in his chair. Pony nods proudly.

"Yup," he says. "Sure did. The last four yards I had him beat. I won without a challenge."

Darry smiles. "Well, good job. I'm proud of you."

Soda walks in the room right then, jumping right into the conversation, trying to act normal.

"Proud of what?" he asks.

"Ponyboy came in first place yesterday."

Soda smiles and places a congratulatory hand on Pony's back. "Good job, Pony."

Soda sits down, flinching a little when his stomach bumps the side of the table, but he doesn't make a sound. He lets out a shallow breath and picks up his glass.

Darry clears his throat. "So Soda," he begins.

Soda outs his glass down and got ready. He knew what he was going to talk about.

"Are you going to tell me what happened last night, or do you want to just assume that I know already?"

"Is that a trick question?" answers Soda. Pony chuckles a little but instantly stops when Darry shoots him a look that tells him to shut up.

"Sodapop."

That's all that Darry has to say. There's just something about they way he says it that makes Soda know that he needs to think of something believable, and he needs to do it quick.

He sighs. "I got into a fight," he says and hopes that it's enough.

Pony stops eating now, all his attention is focused on Soda and Darry. This conversation was going to be interesting.

"With who?" questions Darry. He pushes his chair from the table and picks up his plate, places it in the sink, and sits back down.

Soda shrugs. "I don't know."

"Soda…"

"I'm serious, Darry; I don't know," insists Soda. He tried to sound as he could.

Darry gives him a skeptical look, obviously he wasn't too happy with the answers he was given .

"How do you get into a fight and _not_ know who your fighting?"

"It was dark, I couldn't see him," explains Soda.

Darry looks at the table, he looks like he's thinking really hard about what to say next.

"Uh huh," was all he said.

Soda looks at him, not fully sure of what 'uh huh' means. Did that mean he believed him? Does he not believe him?

"Alright Soda."

That was it. That's all he says before he gets up from the table. " I gotta get to work. Pony don't be late, you either Soda. See you when I get home." He closes the door and heads for the car. Seconds later the sound of the car starting could be heard, then the sound of the breaks squeaking when he comes to the corner. Darry's been meaning to get that fixed. When the car was no longer able to be heard Soda relaxed a little.

_I guess I'm off the hook. He believed me, _he thinks to himself.

He stands up and goes to the Living Room. Slowly he sits on the couch, cautiously making sure that nothing was going to touch his midsection. He closes his eyes and wonders what the day is going to be like.

_Is George gonna be there? What if he is? Wow, that's gonna be weird. What if he wants to talk to me about it? What the hell am I supposed to say? ' Oh George, don't worry about almost knocking my head off. It's okay. My ribs? Oh, they're just wonderful. Yeah, they only burn whenever I breathe and hurt whenever anything touches them; other than that, I'm perfect!'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Pony calling his name. "Soda?' he says. He positions himself in the doorway, one hand on the wall holding himself up. He looks at Soda on the couch with a almost worried look on his face.

"Yeah?" answers Soda without opening his eyes.

"Is that _really_ what happened last night?"

_Damn it, now I have to lie to him, too…._

"Yeah," Soda lies.

Pony moves into the Living Room and takes a seat next to Soda. He taps him on the shoulder so that he looks at him .

"Really?" he asks again, he knows that he's lying.

Soda just nods.

Pony sits back and closes his eyes too, mirroring Soda.

There was silence.

"Hey Curtis 1 and 2!" shouts Two-Bit as he walks into the door, followed by Steve and Johnny.

Both Soda and Pony sit up quickly, a little startled by Two-Bit's sudden outburst.

"Hey Two-Bit," greets Pony dryly.

Two-Bit looks at them, confusingly. " Well who pissed in you Pepsi?"

"What?" asked Soda with a disgusted look on his face, not fully understanding what Two-Bit is getting at.

"Why do you both look depressed?" he rewords the question.

Soda shrugs, "I don't know. I'm okay."

Steve taps Soda on the shoulder. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have a cut over you eye," chimes in Johnny.

_I forgot about that…_

"It's nothing, just a scratch," he says with no emotion at all.

Two-Bit taps Steve. "Maybe he was with a girl, but he wasn't doing it right. So she scratched him," he chuckled. Steve smiled.

"Don't worry, buddy. You'll get it right one day," jokes Steve.

Soda rolls his eyes. "Whatever," he says. "Can we go now? Some of us have school, some of us have jobs we need to get to."

"Except for Two-Bit, he'll never get a job. He's too lazy," Pony pushes him playfully. "What a bum," he says before he bolts out the door with Two-Bit following close behind. The rest of the gang followed them out the door.

**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^

"You're so damn lucky that you didn't screw anything up last night," stated George to Amanda as he searches for his keys.

Amanda doesn't say anything, she knows better. If she talks, he'll just hit her because she never says anything right.

"I don't even know why Matt pulled me over. I wasn't drunk!" exclaims George.

Amanda doesn't look at him. She sits on the couch and looks at the broken coffee table. He back still hurts when she looks at it.

"Amanda!" he calls.

She looks back at him, clearly he wants her attention.

"Where's my keys? I gotta get to work," he questions.

Amands shrugs. She actually knows where they are: on his dresser, but she doesn't want to tell him that. She doesn't want him to leave. She'd rather have her father hit her all day then see him hit or hurt someone else. At least she was used to it, it doesn't bother her as much.

"Amanda!"

She jerks around, the sound of her name frightened her for a second.

"Keys?!" he yells still moving around the room, touching everything like he has OCD or something.

"On your dresser," she answers quietly.

"I can't believe that he's going to work after what happened lat night," whispers Amanda.

Soon after, George comes out of his room. George takes four beers out of the refrigerator, drops three into his bag and opens the last one and take a huge gulp. "I'm leaving. Try not to be a bitch today," he says, then slams the door shut.

**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^

"So are you gonna tell me what really happened or not?" asks Steve.

"About what?" asks Soda, he takes a seat behind the counter and lets out a deep breath.

Steve sighs, "Soda, don't play dumb. That crap might work on Pony but you know damn well it's not gonna work on me."

Soda shrugs. "What do you wanna know?"

"The truth."

Soda shakes his head.

"Soda…," says Steve. He looks at Soda, a look that lets him know that he's going to keep asking.

Soda groans, not really wanting to say anything.

"You promise- no, you _swear_ that you're not gonna tell nobody?"

"Yeah."

"Not Pony, not Two-Bit, not Johnny, and sure as hell not Darry?" asks Soda.

"Swear," answers Steve.

Soda sighs. "Okay," he whispers. "I got into a fight," he begins.

Steve nods. "I know that."

"With George."

"George? George our manager?"

"Yeah," replies Soda.

Steve shakes his head in disbelief.

"I kick his ass," says Steve.

"Don't," was all Soda said in reply.

Steve sits on the check out counter. "Why?"

"He was hittin' his daughter. I was just trying to help her. Then he goes crazy on me, I hit my head on the desk and my whole side slams into the desk, too, then the door. Man , it hurt. Then he's grabbing on her, playing rough, you know. So I'm still tryin' to stop him, so I grab him and he slams me against the door.

His daughter is yelling at him to stop and whatever but it's like he doesn't hear her, you know?" explains Soda.

"Why was he acting like that?"

"Drunk, I think. He had all types of booze around his office, and it smelled like beer and vodka in there," says Soda to Steve.

He sighs. "Wow. Did you get hurt?" he asks.

"My head and my whole stomach is killing me."

They both hear a car door slam shut.

"Shhhh," says Steve as he jumps off the counter. "He's coming."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**HOPE YOU LIKED IT! HOPE YOU REVIEW! HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY! **

**I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**PLEAS REVIEW.**


	11. Chapter 11

**HEY EVERYBODY! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN REVIEWING AND I HOPE THAT YOU CONTINUE TO REVIEW. I ALSO HOPE THAT THIS STORY IS KEEPING YOU INTERESTED, IF IT'S NOT PLEASE LET ME KNOW. ANYWAY, ENOJOY….**

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Shut up, shut up. He's coming," shushes Steve. He jumps off the counter onto the black and white tile floor. He brushes off his already dirty shirt and then leans over the counter toward Soda with a wild look on his face. "Act normal," instructs Steve to his best friend. Soda laughs.

"You're never normal," was his reply.

Then the store was quiet. Both boys looked at the transparent door silently as they waited for George to walk through it. Steve bit his lower lip in anticipation and Soda could swear the he could hear his heart beat in his ears. He tapped his hand on the counter and just waited.

Time seemed to be going in slow-motion and after a few minutes they begin to doubt that they even heard a door slam shut to begin with. No one seemed to be outside of the small gas station, now. Everything seemed too quiet for George to be here, he's usually loud and demanding. Soda looks over at Steve who already has a steady gaze on him.

"Is he here?" questions Soda, he tries to lean over the counter a little to widen his view of outside but quickly retracted when his stomach pressed on the counter in front of him. He sucked his teeth and sat back, realizing that he was defeated.

Soda taps Steve on the shoulder.

"Go check," stated Soda.

Steve shakes his head. "You go."

"Steve, c'mon. Just go to the door, act like you're important or something. Go check," persuades Soda.

Steve gives him a dirty look but makes his way to the door anyway. After a couple of steps he looks back. " I _am_ important," he mutters , then continues to head for the entrance. He moves cautiously, trying to act like a spy. Every few seconds he would spin around in a full circle like he heard something, then continue on his way. From behind the counter Soda smiled to himself as he watched his best friend take the difficult way of seeing who had approached the DX.

Finally, after about four 360 degree turns and three stops to look around Steve made it to the door. He looks out, first to the left then to the right, when he doesn't see anyone right away he looks back at Soda. Steve shrugs, telling him that he doesn't see anyone.

Soda waves his hand. "Go outside," he instructs.

Steve sighs then says, "If I get killed….always remember..," he stops and wipes a fake tear away and sniffles , " that … I _never, ever_ loved you," then he finds himself in a laughing fit. He holds his stomach and throws his head back and continues to laugh.

"Ha ha," comments Soda, "Just go."

Steve finishes laughing, then suddenly a serious look is on his face. He slams he back against the wall and makes is hand into a fake gun.

"I'm goin' in," he announces, the kicks the door open with one foot and runs through the door, the plants himself on the side of the gas station. Peeking around the corner, he spots George. He's guzzling his third beer. After a few gulps he looks around, and Steve could swear he was looking directly at him. As quick as he could, Steve drew back his head and crouched down behind the two tires that were in front of him.

There was silence again, the only sound that could be heard was George finishing off that beer and searching for another one in his suite case. He fished through the black case in search for his fourth beer before 9:30 a.m.

In the distance, a car could be heard moving closer to the gas stop. Backing away from the tires, Steve headed back to the inside of the DX to inform Soda of what's going on outside.

Still crawling, he butts the door open with his head and inched toward the counter.

"Soda….Soda," he pants between strides.

With one look at Steve, Soda cannot hold back the laughter. He doubled over in laughter, he couldn't find the strength to look at him on the floor.

"Why….," he begins to laugh again, "why are you….," laughter takes over Soda again.

Steve pushes himself up from the floor and power walks the rest of the way to Soda.

"Shut up," he says before he begins his story. Soda covers his mouth in attempt to stop the giggles from escaping his mouth but it does no use. He cannot get the image of Steve pushing the door open with is head then crawling on the floor over to him out of his mind.

Ignoring the laughter, Steve starts.

"George is here, but he's drinking again. He had like three beers in the past four minutes. When he comes in here he's going to be really wasted, and I'm pretty sure that he has more in his office. I think that you should keep you're distance from him today; you know, to stay safe," warns Steve.

Soda nods.

"But where-," he begins but is cut off by the sound of the door opening. Both boy's heads turn is unison, looking at who entered the gas station.

Stumbling a little, George moves toward the boys.

"Are you fucking blind?" he slurs, "Can't you see the damn car waiting for some gas?"

Soda looks out, he spots a small blue car waiting patiently at the gas pump, looking for someone to assist them.

"Steve," calls George. He wipes his dirty hand on his already stained shirt, the points at Steve. He gestures with his head for him to go pump the gas.

Steve's eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. " I don't pump gas; Soda does."

"And now I'm telling you to."

"George, come on…"

"Go! Now!" yells George. Startled by the sudden outburst, they jump a little.

Soda pulls Steve back a little. "You can go, I'll be okay," he whispers to him.

Unwillingly, Steve goes to help the blue car. Leaving Soda inside with a drunk maniac. When George is sure that Steve is out of sight, he makes his way over to his office.

"Soda, come here," he says in between unsteady steps.

Soda sighs. "I don't know, George," was his answer.

With that George turns around, makes his way toward Soda and grabs the collar on the back of his shirt.

"I only want to talk," he whisper to him. Before he could object, Soda felt himself being pulled toward George's office. Even drunk he was very, very strong. Soda pulled back, trying to escape from the grip of George but he was no match.

After being half-dragged through the store, he was now inside of George's office. George has let go of Soda and has pushed him back a few steps.

George begins to talk in a quiet voice.

"Sodapop," he begins, "you're a great worker. You're reliable, and as I seen last night, you're pretty much fearless. You're willing to help other people, and that's great, but my daughter doesn't need anything from you."

"But you were hitting her," Soda answers.

George shrugs, "She deserved it."

Soda looks away, feeling disgusted that a father could do that to his child and not care.

"Now, I expect that you know what's good for you. I expect that you don't plan on calling the cops of getting anyone involved do you?"

Soda doesn't answer; instead he keeps his stare on George, showing no emotion at all.

"Well, if you do just know that the consequences of that are going to be worse for you than it is for me," says George.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

George takes a step closer, "I think you know what that means, Soda. You're not stupid."

Soda smiles. "I might not be as smart as you think. Explain it."

"It means that if you even _think_ about calling the cops, that your life will become a living _hell_!"

"What if she calls the cops?"

George lets laughter take over him, "She knows better," was his reply.

Soda feels George take him by the back of the neck and bring his ear closer to his mouth.

"If you want to keep this job, you'll stay out of my business!" he yells right into Soda's ear. The smell of sweat and beer surround Soda's face and he coughs a little. Suddenly, George brings a heavy hand into Soda's stomach causing his coughing to turn into silent cries of pain.

He hears George chuckle a little, feeling enjoyment in causing someone else pain.

"You…don't…want…to…get…fired…do…you?" asks George. He brings his fist into Soda's rib cage with each word, the punches getting harder and harder with every punch. Soon, the pain became too much and he felt as if his legs couldn't keep him standing anymore. If George wasn't holding him up by the back of his shirt he would has fell to the ground.

Even though the hits to his already bruised mid-section was unbearable pain, Soda made sure that not one sound left his lips. He made sure that George got no enjoyment out of this.

Eventually, he was done. George let go of his collar, and just as he predicted, he collapsed to the ground holding his stomach. Even though Soda refused to look at George, he knew that he was smiling a huge smile. He loved hurting people.

After a few seconds of silence, he heard the door swing open.

"Now get back to work," demanded George before he slammed the door shut, leaving Soda whimpering in pain on his office floor.

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	12. Chapter 12

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS ON THE LAST CHAPTER. ENJOY….**

"Thank you for getting your gas at the DX; please come again," recites Steve in a dry voice. The girl in the driver's seat with brunette hair brushes it off her face and smiles a flirtation smile. She fixes her grip on the steering wheel then looks up at him.

"No, thank you," she says. Holding her hand out, she hands him the money along with a small piece of paper. Again, she smiles at him then drives off into slow moving mid-day traffic.

Steve unfolds the paper and sees her number written on it. He smiles to himself, giving him an invisible pat on the back he chuckles.

Steve walks back into the DX, looking around tries to spot Soda. He sees George struggling to fit the bottles of Pepsi on the shelf. Cautiously, he takes them out of the cardboard box. For a second he studies the shelf and preps himself before lifting the bottle. He slides it into the shelf but it pops back out and breaks on the floor.

"Damn it!" he curses the goes back into the box for another try, only for the same pattern to repeat again.

Curious, Steve walks around the isle to where George is to try and figure out the problem that he's having. As soon as he has a clear look at the shelf that George is trying to stock he laughs.

"George," he chuckles. "That shelf is filled already. Me and Soda filled it before you came."

Suddenly, he remembered Soda.

"George, where's Soda?" Steve asks, walking around the store looking for his friend.

He shrugs.

"Hell if I know," he slurs then goes back into the box for another try.

Steve walks around, still not seeing Soda. He walks past George's office and decides to take a look. Slowly he walks up to the door.

"Soda?" he calls.

There's no answer.

"Soda?" he calls again.

Inside he hears movement and quiet sounds.

Steve opens the door to find Soda on his knees, trying to stand. Maneuvering around liquor bottles and empty beer cans he holds his hand out to Soda. He helps him stand then places his arm around him back to give him support to stand.

"What happened?" asks Steve with concern in his voice.

"George went psycho on me, man."

Steve's eyes went big and he felt an anger boil inside that he couldn't control.

He removed his hand from around Soda, leaving him to support himself, and stormed out the door. He power walked through the store, pissed off. This thing has gone on long enough. It was time he put it to an end.

"George!" he calls out, clenching and unclenching his fists.

George staggers back, seeing three of Steve and not knowing which one to answer.

"What the hell is your problem?!" yells Steve. He pushes George against the wall, then lands a powerful punch to his face.

"Steve!" calls Soda. He moves across the DX to his engaged friend.

Seeming unable to hear him Steve lands another punch.

"Steve stop!"

Finally able to reach him, Soda grabs him hand before he could bring his fist to George's face again.

With fire burning in his eyes Steve looks back, not understanding why Soda was yelling at him to stop.

"What the hell is your problem, Soda? This guy beats your ass and you're saving him?" asks Steve.

"You're not helping me!" yells back Soda.

"I'm protecting you!"

"No, you're not! You're making it worse!" shouts Soda. He pulls Steve away and makes him walk away.

Breaths come in quick gasps for both boys. Steve crosses his arms across his chest and waits for an explanation on why he was stopped from giving George the ass whooping he deserved.

"You want to tell me what your problem is?" questions Steve.

Taking in deep breaths Soda begins to relax.

"George," he begins, " He said that if I piss him off again, he's gonna fire me, and I can't lose theis job, I need this job."

"Oh," responds Steve quietly, fully understanding now.

Soda nods.

"Yeah, and even though I would love to see you beat his ass, and even though I'm happy that you'd do it for me, you just can't, okay?"

Steve looks away. "Yeah, yeah. I get it."

"Good," says Soda. He places a hand on Steve's back. "Now cheer up, cause I got an idea that's gonna cheer you up."

"What?"

Soda smiles.

"We don't gotta work tomorrow, so we're goin out tonight."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Alright, I'm gonna go get a soda, you want one?" asks Steve, standing up from the booth on the side of the small hang-out.

Soda shrugs, "Sure," he says.

Steve stands and makes his way to onto line behind about five or six people.

The door to the Dingo swings open and three girls walk in. They sit down on the other side of the restaurant. Soda watches at the girl pick out a booth and take a seat. At first he thought he was going crazy but soon he realizes that one of the girls were Amanda.

He looks over at her with confusion written on his face.

Slowly, he stands up and walks over to her.

He moves across the room and over to their table.

"Can I talk to you?" he asks her.

She looks up at him. Her eyes go big and she smiles nervously.

"Um, sure," she responds slowly. She stands up, brushes off her skirt and walks to a table with Soda.

"Are you stalking me?" asks Soda.

She lets out a small laugh.

"_You_ were the one who asked me to talk," she argues back.

Soda smiles.

"Yes, but _you're_ the one who keeps popping up in my life like a recurring nightmare," he says back.

Amanda pushes her hair away from her face.

"Okay," she begins, "I didn't come here to arguer, okay? I came to have a good time while I can."

"I thought your dad didn't let you out. Or are you a liar, too?"

She gives him a fake smile.

"That's why I said 'while I can', he's passed out right now. I only have a couple hours till I have to be back," she explains.

"I guess it's hard to live with him, huh?"

She shakes her head. "You don't even know. That's why I'm so happy you're helping me…"

"Whoa, whoa," he cuts in, "Who said I'm helping you. I saw that you were in trouble and I saved you. That's it," he explains.

Again, she smiles.

"Soda, anyone one can tell that you're a nice guy. I know you're gonna help me," he responds.

Soda shrugs, knowing that it's true but not wanting to admit it.

"Also," she says in a more serious voice, " you've seen how horrible my dad is, and know that you can be the one to help me because I really need it."

Soda doesn't answer, he sits back in his chair and looks at her.

"You _are _going to help me, right?" she asks with worry in her eye.

Soda stands up.

"I'll see what I can do," he says before heading back to his table.

**OKAY LIKE ALWAYS I HOPE YOU LIKED IT, AND LIKE ALWAYS, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS ON THE LAST CHAPTER. PLEASE ENJOY…**

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The two teens walked side by side. One was more enthusiastic than the other, but all in all they were okay. Soda and Amanda walked slowly down the street. It was late in the day and the sun was slowly setting. The sun glowed and left an orange light all around them.

"So how do you keep finding me?" asks Soda, finally speaking after fifteen minutes of silence. He gave her a look then stared at the floor again. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked a small rock on the ground ahead of them. From the corner of his eye he sees Amanda smile a little.

"My dad had the working schedule on the refrigerator; I know when everyone is working or not working. I looked on it yesterday and saw that you got off of work an hour earlier, so I came by. I have to talk to you," she explains.

Soda shrugs.

"So talk," he says.

She puts her head down.

"I don't want to cause any trouble for you or your brothers," she starts, "but, I really need help; really bad," she says.

Soda looks over his shoulder at her. "Why are you worried about my brothers? They don't even know that you exist at all."

Amanda clears her throat and flips her hair. "That's how my dad works. He takes out his enemies by hurting the ones they care about. He had a cold heart, Soda. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. He doesn't care how much pain he causes people as long as he gets what he wants in the end."

"Your dad knows that I'm helping you?"

"No! Of course not, but he has ways of finding out. Sometimes I think that he has spies all around Tulsa, just watching me, making sure that I don't do anything wrong. Somehow he always knows," she says.

Soda sighs. He takes one hand out of his pocket and scratches the side of his head, trying to figure out what they're going to do.

"But come on," he says after a few moments of silence, "Your dad's a bad guy but he can't be as horrible as you describe. I mean, I know he hits you and whatever, but that's not the worst thing that he can do."

Amanda laughs a little, knowing that Soda had no idea how terrible her father really is. She holds her are out and points to a scare on the side of her elbow.

"See this? About six years ago, I fell off the swing at the playground. I had broken my elbow. I knew it was broken as soon as I hit the ground; I heard it pop. So I started crying, hard. So my dad comes running over to me, he looks at my arm and pulls me into a hug, telling me that everything is going to be alright. But it was all an act. All of the other mothers and fathers from the neighborhood were there watching us.

He picks me up and carries me out the park. We lived close so we walked home.

Most parents would have taken their child to the hospital. I was hurt really bad, you know? But not my dad; he's not that type of guy. Instead, he takes me home and sits me on the couch. By now I'm crying my eyes out, begging him to take me to the hospital, but he acts like he doesn't hear me.

He sits me on the couch and disappears into the bathroom. I hear him rummaging through the cabinets and soon he returns. I see him slip this rubber gloves over his hand and make his way back over to me. I push myself to the back of the couch. At first I didn't know what he was going to do, but I knew that it was bad and that it was going to hurt.

My dad sits down beside me with a crazy look in his eyes. He reaches for my arm and I pull it away, protecting it as much as I could but I knew that eventually he was going to do whatever he had planned. Soon, he's able to get my arm. Slowly, he unbends it as much as it would go. The pain was so bad I thought that I was going to pass out.

I cried for him to stop, tried to tell him that it hurt, but he didn't stop. Every time I would cry out he would shoot me a look that tells me to shut up. By now, I'm biting my bottom lip, trying no to make a sound.

He had a firm grip on my arm and is pulling on it again. I feel white hot pain all over my body and I try to pull away, but every time I move it hurts more. I feel a warm sensation all the way down my arm. When I finally force myself to look down at it, I see that he's bent it back so far that it began to bleed. But it wasn't a little bit of blood. It looked like a small river. The blood ran down my arm and onto the couch. It was all over his gloves, too. Red blood smears all over it.

I hate the sight of blood. I can handle it a little more now, but especially when I was little I hated it.

As soon as I seen the blood I felt an uncontrollable urge to move away. Without thinking, I slapped him; I slapped him straight across the face.

I remember the look he gave me. He looked up at me with anger and disbelief written all over his face. Then there was rage and the feeling of be overpowered. He picks me up, once I'm standing, he grabs my hand and pulls me. He pulled me by the broken arm all around the house. We went up the stairs and down again, we went into the kitchen and all around the living room and dining room.

'Please, Daddy,' I begged, but that only made him angrier.

We went on like this for too many hours to count, but eventually he stopped. He got tired.

'Go to bed,' he said to me.

I didn't even bother to arguer with him or tell him that it was just six o'clock. Instead, I walked up the stairs, crying my eyes out from the pain, and entered my room."

"He made you sleep with a broken arm?" questions Soda with astonishment in his voice.

Amanda nods.

"I didn't go to the hospital until two days later."

"Oh my God," Soda whispers, "How could he do that to you?"

"He said that I wasn't careful. He said that I didn't deserve to go to the hospital right away, I needed to be punished before I could be rewarded."

Soda shook his head in disbelief.

"Amanda, I'm sorry…," he tries to begin but he cuts him off.

"Don't apologize," she says. "It's in the past; it's only a painful memory now."

Soda looks away, suddenly unable to look at her without feeling sympathy. Is this how people felt when they found out that his parents died? Man, sympathy is a horrible feeling, especially when the person you're feeling it for doesn't want you to feel it.

"So," Soda says, "What now?" he asks, changing the subject.

She shrugs. "What do you mean?" she asks.

"Anything. What do you want in life? Anything in the world, what do you want?"

Amanda smiles, thinking of it as a weird question.

"Uhmmm," she thinks aloud.

"Oh!" she finally says. "I've got it; you wanna know that I've always wanted?"

Soda looks over at her, and gives her a look that tells her to continue.

"Roses."

"Roses?"

She smiles. "Roses," she says again. "I've always wanted someone to bring me roses."

Soda shakes his head and smiles.

"Why roses?" asks Soda.

Amanda looks away. "Roses were my mom's favorite flower. She loved them so much. My middle name is rose," she says.

Soda nods, now understanding.

Amanda looks over at him. "What about you?" she asks.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want? If you could have anything, what would you get?"

Soda looks around, not really sure what to say. He sees little kids sunning around, playing tag or something. They yell and scream at one another but it's all out of love and play. Soda remembered when he used to be one of those kids, running around playing. Then, his wish finally came to him.

"Happiness. If I could have one thing, it'll be happiness," he says, "But not for me, though, for my brothers."

She smiles. "Aww," she says in a mocking voice and pushes him playfully.

"Little Soderpop is full of love; that's adorable," she says in a baby voice.

Soda smiles, but doesn't disagree. "My older brother, Darry, he's always under stress, you know. I mean, he has to do everything for us, and sometimes I wish that he would've just put us in a boys'home. I know that that sounds crazy, but I mean it. Sometimes I see him stressing over bills and wondering how he's going to feed us, and I know that he wouldn't have that problem if he didn't have to take care of us.

I know that he loves me and Pony, and that there's no way in the world that he would ever give us up, but sometimes I wish he did; just to make him happy."

"What about you're other brother?"

"Pony? Well, he feels that he has to be perfect in everything that he does, and sometimes I wish that he would realize that we don't want him to be perfect, we just want him to always do his best. We want him to go to college and see that life is better than this, but I think that he doesn't understand that even though we push him to do his best, it's just to give him a better life in the future," Soda explains.

"Wow," Amanda says, looking around.

Soda looks over at her. "Wow what?"

She points all around them. "It's late. We must've talked longer that we thought."

Soda looks around. Everything was suddenly black all around them.

"I need to get home," she says, speeding up.

"It's dark, you shouldn't walk alone," Soda says. He places his hand on her back, letting her know that he's still here.

"Come on," he says, "I'll walk you home."

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**OKAY, SO JUST AN AUTHOR'S NOTE: REMEMBER WHAT THEY TALKED ABOUT IN THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE IT WILL MEAN SOMETHING EVENTUALLY. **

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	14. Chapter 14

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**______________________________________________________________________**

"Really," Amanda insisted, "you don't have to walk me home," she says to Soda. He laughs and continues walking by her side. They're legs moved in synchronized motions and they're arms swung at the same time, almost like robots. They were about a block away from her house, and now she begins to say that she doesn't need him. The streets and the sidewalks were vacant, right now, the whole town looked vacant. Besides a few streetlights, the moon, and the stars, there seemed to be no light. Even the houses didn't have their lights on, which seemed weird to both Soda and Amanda.

"We're almost to your house, what's the point of me turning back now?" he questions.

This time Amanda doesn't answer, she just shrugs.

Its dark outside, around 8:00. The sun went down about an hour ago. When the sun left, so did the children who played on the sidewalk and in the grass of the small houses that lined the side of the street. All around was trees. The leafs on the ends of the branches seemed to glisten in the soft moonlight from the rain early this morining as the two teenagers walked on the right side of the sidewalk. On the horizon, in dead center of the trees was the moon, shining along with the stars against the dark sky.

They arrived at the house, but Amanda stopped short, not going to the few steps that were in front of her house. At first, Soda didn't even realize that she had stopped walking. He kept going until he felt her pull his arm and bring him back. She grabbed him so fast and it caught him off guard that he almost lost his balance and charged right into her.

"Soda," she hisses softly.

He spins around, facing her. He looks at her confusingly, unsure of why she won't let him walk her to the door.

"What?" he answers, looking around for any potential danger.

"My dad."

"What?" he repeats.

"He's home, and I don't want him to see that you're here with me. I'm already gonna get it tonight for coming home after eight; I don't wanna get you hurt, too," she explains in a whisper. She doesn't look scared, though. Instead, she looks emotionless, like this had happened to her one too many times. Amanda has learned to not let her emotions show even when that should be most noticable.

Soda shrugs. " Okay," he says, " But before you go, can I ask you something?"

Amanda looks around, then back at him. "Yeah, sure."

"What do you want to happen? With your dad, I mean. What do you think at we can do? We're kids, Amanda. There isn't too much that we can do to stop him, especially if we have to keep sneaking around to see each other," Soda says.

Amanda sighs. She brushes her hair and licks her lips.

"The truth?" she asks.

Soda nods. " Yeah," he responds, "the truth."

Again, she sighs. She shifts on her feet and is not standing directly in the moon light. With the glow from the sky, Soda really has a chance to see her clearly. He sees the dark bruising on her arms, he sees the scrapes on her legs that she tries to hide by wearing long dresses. He sees the cut on her lower lip and the dark shading behind her left eye that looks like it's recovering from a strong hit.

It makes his sick. Just thinking that a parent would do that to their kid. How sick do you have to be to hit your daughter almost every night and not feel the least bit of guilt.

Soda remembers when he first met George, he was so full of life. He wore a smile so big that it made you smile. There was always cheer in his voice that could make you happy. He was so generous when he first met him, and Soda was even more grateful that he gave him a job when it seemed like nobody else would.

In some cases, George was his savior. Not only for him though, but for Darry and Pony, too. Sure, if George never hired him he could have found someone else who could, but the point is that he didn't have to. George gave him a chance, a chance that he would always thank him for. But now, he could never look at George the same again. Not after meeting Amanda and hearing about how he really it. And now that he actually sees George's real side, it just makes the situation even worse.

Amanda looks up from the ground then back at him.

"In all honesty," she begins, " I want to see him dead."

At first this came to Soda as a shock, but he realized why she would say that.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say or how he should react to that. How do you respond to hearing that someone wants their father dead. Most would have thought that she was joking, but Amanda has never lied to Soda yet, she he believed her.

"Amanda," he says. "I can't do that. I can't _kill _your father. I'm not gonna kill George."

She sighs and Soda can see the disappointment in her eyes. She looks away for a moment, taking it all in, then he nods.

"I get it, Soda. You're not a criminal, and you're definitely not a murderer. But you are a friend, and you do have great ideas, so whenever you think of one come find me."

He shrugs. "How do I find you?"

She smiles, "Just leave a clue in the dirt by the light pole where you first found me, I go by it just about everyday, I'll see it," she says and heads for the door.

Without another word, Soda begins to walk in the opposite direction back home and Amanda heads up her front steps.

On the top floor, George swipes the window shut. He smiles to himself as he watches Amanda walk up to the door silently. Neither Soda or Amanda knew that George heard every word they said.

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**OKAY, SO I WANTED TO UPDATE AGAIN, SO HERE I AM! WELL I HOPED YOU LIKED IT, AND I HOPE THAT THE STORY IS KEEPING YOU INTERESTED. SORRY THIS CHAPTER WAS SO SHORT =(**

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	15. Chapter 15

**OKAY SO I GOT BORED AND WANTED TO UPDATE, SO HERE I AM. ENJOY…**

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Amanda walked into her house slowly. She bit her lip as she tried to close the front door silently, trying to keep her father upstairs. The door squeaked when she began to close it and she mentally cursed to herself. She heard rumbling upstairs and she instantly knew that she had waken up her father, so at least made enough noise to draw his attention.

There was a slam of a door and heavy footsteps. All around was pitch black besides the outlining of George's room. Amanda stayed with her back against the door until her father came into view. She couldn't get herself to move, and even if she could she knew that it was no use.

In the dark, Amanda sees the shadow of her father coming closer. She tightens her grip on the doorknob and takes in a quivering deep breath, mentally preparing herself for whatever he was planning on doing.

She hears her father breathing in deeply at the top of the steps, and in this silence it scares her. It was in a nice soothing rhythm, and considering the circumstances were bad, she still felt a little bit of comfort. He stood at the top, clenching and unclenching his fists. He turned his head to the side. He played with something in his left hand. Amanda followed the outline of it and soon came to the conclusion that it was a bat.

Amanda gasped and pressed herself closer to the front door.

"Amanda, Amanda...," George said as he walked down the steps. The way that the light from his bedroom hit him, he kind of resembled an angel, but in reality he was no where near that. George walked down the staircase slowly, twirling the baseball bat in his hand. In the low light Amanda can see his smile a little.

He walked slowly, making Amanda anticipate what was going to happen, but that's probably what he'd planned all along. Her father works like that. He makes long-term plans to break someone down. He takes out small layer of you until you're nothing. George enjoys that, he likes making you sweat. He's the type of person to keep you guessing what's going to happen next. Basically, he's someone that you never want to meet.

Finally, he makes his way to the bottom of the steps. Still, Amanda hasn't moved from her place against the door. By now she has stiffened and stood as straight and flat as a board. George, on the other hand, was very relaxed. He walked nonchalantly with a calmed look on his face. He knows that he has the upper hand; he always does, but now he knows that he can make Amanda do anything that he wants to.

George taps the metal bat on the ground with each step that he takes. Each time the bat hits Amanda jumps a little. George laughs and walks closer to Amanda.

George walks closer, and closer, and closer , and closer. Within seconds, George was so close to Amanda the she could clearly smell the harsh smell of beer smacking her in the face. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breath through her nose but it didn't do any good. She felt as it she could taste the beer on her tongue and on the back of her throat.

"I don't know how many times I told you to be home on time," he whispers. There was clearly anger in his voice and there was disappointment. The way her annunciated his words allowed Amanda to see that he was clearly angry about something. She didn't think that he'd be this mad, but this was different than she had anticipated. She imagined herself walking in the door to her father sitting on the couch with only the light of the television lighting the room. She pictured that she'd walk in and he'd stand up and walk over to her. She thought that he'd yell for a little, and maybe smack her once or twice if he really felt that it was necessary, but other than that she pictured herself walking into her room feeling almost accomplished. But this, she had no idea what 'this' was. She didn't know what he had planned.

George took a step back. He twirled the bat in his hands, taunting her. Amanda moved anxiously on her feet.

"Now," he began, "what do you think that your punishment should be for disobeying me? Huh? What do you think Amanda?" he asks.

Amanda sniffles, not sure of what to say.

George winds his arm back and slams the bat against the wall, missing her face by a close couple of inches. She screamed unintentionally, but instantly covered her mouth when it escaped her mouth. She felt her whole body shake and her knees go weak for a second.

George suddenly finds himself in a laughing fit. He drops the bat to the ground because he's laughing so hard. Amanda removes her hand from her face and frantically wipes the hair away from her face. She doesn't know what to do or how to react, her father is so unpredictable.

Soon, he laughs and picks up his bat.

"You didn't think that I would actually hit you?" he asks.

Amanda stays silent.

"No, no, no," he says. "That would just _kill _me inside," he whispers to her then walks away. He heads into the kitchen, whistling a happy tune to himself.

Catching her breath, Amanda walks up to her room. Not sure why her dad was acting like that, and unsure of what her father knows.

**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&***&**&**&**&**&***&**&

The next day, George went driving around, looking for the perfect group of people. He'd been driving for about an hour and he still hasn't found what he was looking for.

He turned the corner, actually drinking sober, and he rolled up to a group of well dressed boys. They stood on the corner talking to one another, laughing and playing around. They looked almost grown. Maybe seventeen or eighteen.

George drives up to them and beeps his horn. At one time all of their attention is drawn to him. The tallest Soc' walks up to him. He has dark brown hair, swooped over to the side and light green eyes. He wears a team athletic jacket. He had a suspicious look on his face and he walks slowly, studying George as he approaches him.

"You lost, mister?" he asks, taking a look back at his friends, then back at George.

George smiles. "Actually son, you can. You see, I'm in need of a favor and I think that you and you're friends can help me."

The boy with the green eyes shrugs. He turns around and waves the rest of this friends over. They walks slowly, just as curious as Green Eyes.

"What's your problem, mister?"

"You see, I'm having a little problem with this boy, but he's a minor so I can't take care of him personally. I'm not that kind of person," George lies. " I'm having a problem with a Greaser boy."

The crowd laughs.

"Sure, mister, what do you need us to do?" asks a slightly smaller boy in the back of the crowd.

George reaches down into the glove compartment and pulls out a wad of money. He fans it out in his hand and listens to the group of Soc' boys "ooh" and "ahh".

George takes in a deep breath and smiles.

"How much will it take for you to kill a Greaser?"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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	16. Chapter 16

**ENJOY…**

* * *

The hands on the clock seemed to move a little slower when Steve and Soda were at work. They both tried their best to keep busy, but in the end it was all useless. Both invented games and joked around with each other to make the time pass but it did nothing. The day was slow and nothing interesting had happened.

It's been about a week since Soda and George really talked to each other, but he seemed happier lately. Soda hadn't spoken to Amanda either. He was beginning to get worried, but he tried to keep his mind off her. He tried not to think of her as a friend, more like a homeless girl, or something so he doesn't get emotionally attached. He wants to be nice to her, and more than anything he wanted to help her, but he didn't want her to get the wrong idea.

From what Soda can see, Amanda is the type of person that get attached to others easily. For example, when she first met Soda she didn't want anything to do with him, but as soon as they began to talk, it was like she never wanted to stop. Whenever she would speak about her father and some of the horrific things that he's done to her she would get this look in her eye that couldn't be explained. She resembled a small child and a lost puppy at the same time. Her eyes softened and her facial expression went emotionless, almost as if she were in a trance. She would speak soft and slow, like she was afraid her father could hear her, and when she was finished with the story she was telling, she looked like she wanted to cry.

Amanda is a person with an amazing amount of strength, Soda thought. Soda sighs and leans his side against the car. Soda doesn't think that he could've handled the situation better of he was in her position. He doesn't think that he would be as calm as she's been about her problems. He couldn't handle his father, or Darry for that matter, ever hitting him like that.

This whole thing is crazy, and for a while Soda blamed himself. He thought back to the night that he and Steve first found Amanda. Maybe he should've just listened to Steve, maybe his life would be better right now it he'd just let her go. As soon as the thought enters his mind, Soda pushes it out. He knows that he could never do anything like that. That's not the type of person he is. He saw that she was in trouble and he helped, he can't imagine it any other way. He thinks of it like this: what it he never found her at all? Would she be more hurt right now if he never helped her in the first place? Maybe she would've run away by now? That would be worse. She would be homeless on the street.; cold, alone, and hungry.

Soda shakes his head and swallows hard.

"You're doing a good thing, Soda," he says to himself before grabbing the wet rag out of the blue bucket on the cement ground and getting back to work.

**_**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&_**

George sits back in his chair and smiles to himself. He spins a little then sits back again. He rests his head on his desk and smiles again. Tonight, he'll finally get rid of Soda.

_He walked out of his house and into his small back truck. He pulled away from the curb and onto his search for the perfect group of people to get rid of his problem. George felt kind of ashamed of himself, he really couldn't take care of a sixteen year old boy himself? For some reason, Soda just won't go away, no matter what he does he just won't quit. He's threatened him and his family, he's warned Amanda not to go near him, and he's beat his ass at least three times, but he still continues to pry his way into George's life. _

_The sun was high in the sky, but it wasn't hot outside at all. The cool breeze passed by you quickly, feeling good against your skin. George pressed a little harder on the gas pedal and drove down the street. Cautiously, he looked left to right, looking for the right group of kids. _

"_C'mon…c'mon," he says aloud to himself. _

_Finally, he rounds the corner and spots the perfect contestants for the game he has planned. He eases on the gas and pumps the breaks a little until he stops on the side of the road beside them. _

"_Hey," he calls out. _

_All at one time, they're heads swoop over into his direction. There's about six or seven boys standing in a circle around one brunette girl, but they don't seem to be harassing her at all, she seems to be enjoying they're company, at the very least. _

_One boy, obviously the one with the most guts, approaches the car. He leans his head a little to get a better look at George. There's a small silence between them, but soon he speaks up. _

"_You lost, mister?" he asks. He voice is kind and gentle, but the tone that he said it in was uninviting and irritating. His bright green eyes burned with a hate that was unnecessary, considering he doesn't even know that George is asking. _

_George laughs a fake laugh and then shakes his head. _

"_No, but I could use you're help," he replies. George points to the rest of the group behind him. "I think I might need you're friends, too."_

_Green Eyes turns around and waves his friends over. _

_Now surrounding George, they wait to see what he has to say. _

_George goes into his glove compartment and grabs a wad of money. He fans it out in his hands and listens to the group "ooh" and "ahh" at the money. _

"_How much will it take for you to kill s Greaser?" asks George. _

_The whole group laughed hysterically. Some doubled over in laughter. Some leaned back against who ever was behind them, holding their stomach. The others covered their mouths and laughed silently. The girl though, she stood there with her could hung open. She seemed to be the only one who took him seriously. _

_George waited patiently, knowing that sooner or later the laughter would stop and they would realize that he wasn't joking. _

_Eventually, the laughter subsided and then they stood, looking at him in disbelief. _

"_Seriously?" asked a slightly shorter boy in the back with blonde hair. _

"_Seriously," George says with a straight face, letting the group know that he wasn't bluffing. _

_Green Eyes shrugs and looks back at the rest of the gang. "Well, damn master, we ain't really the killing type of people, you know?"_

_George shakes his head. "You might not be, but you can be. I know how much you and your kind hate Greasers. This is you're chance to lessen the population of Greasers by removing one or two in the process," George manipulates. _

_He sees the group begin to shift, seeing his point. _

"_How much you got?" asked the short boy in the back again. _

_George laughs a evil laugh. _

"_That's what I'm talkin' about!" he exclaims in a excited voice. _

_George talks with the boys for about five minutes before giving all of his money to the group and driving away. In reality, George had no clue of he could trust these boy, most likely not, but he needed to get rid of Soda and this is the only way he knows how. _

_George drives off feeling satisfied._

_**&*****&***&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&_

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow," says Soda to Steve beginning to walk in the opposite direction of is friend.

Within minutes, Steve was out of sight, and he was alone in the dark. The sun went down about an hour ago and the only light came from the streetlights on the side of the road.

Soda walked pleasantly, whistling to himself quietly, trying to enjoy his walk home.

In the distance, he sees headlights heading in his direction, coming from the way Steve had headed off to.

The car passes him and turns the corner.

Soda tries shrugs his shoulders and continues to walk.

About three minutes later, the car passes him again, but this time they stop a few feet behind him. Soda takes in a deep breath, calming himself and trying to be more alert.

_You're overreacting….they're not after you…you're going crazy._ He thinks to himself.

Despite his reassuring words, he speeds up a little.

"Hey Greaser!" someone calls out.

Instinctively, Soda turns around.

Before he had time to react, a hard object caught him on the side of the head, causing his knees to go weak and his vision to go black.

* * *

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	17. Chapter 17

**OKAY, SO FIRST OFF I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE REVIEWS; AND YES **_**I REACHED 100 REVIEWS!!!!!**_

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* * *

"I knew those damn Soc's were up to something," grunts Steve he drags his half conscious friend down the street.

* * *

_Steve saw the headlights of the oncoming car ride slowly down the street. The dark colored car moved slow and cautiously, looking for someone or something. The people in the car were completely hidden in the darkness of the night, but Steve could feel that something we wrong._

_He slowed his pace down and watched the car drive on in the direction that Soda had headed off to. Steve bit his lip in confusion. Should he be concerned or should he just mind his own business? The thought was something that didn't take long for Steve to figure out._

_Some how, he knew that Soda was in trouble and he knew that the people in the car were going to have something to do with it. He could feel that they were up to no good._

_Without hesitation, he turns around in the other direction, going to make sure Soda was alright._

* * *

Steve readjusts his grip on Soda and shakes his head. He looks over at Soda, whos head bobbles form left to right as he was half dragged, half carried down the street.

"Hey buddy, you okay?" Steve asks in a concern voice.

The only answer he gets in the sound of the owls cooing in the night.

* * *

_His heart began to race as he walked down the sidewalk and turn the corner. He sees the car rolling slowly down the road and he sees Soda walking comfortably down the street. The car comes closer and Steve finds himself holding his breath. Shockingly, the car goes past Soda and around the corner and on to wherever it's going._

_Steve sighs and smiles a little._

_"How paranoid am I?" Steve says aloud to himself. He smiles again, feeling a little stupid and begins to head home._

_The night is quit, and nothing beside the sound of his feet hitting the ground is all that can be heard._

_Just when Steve began to calm and began to make him self feel that nothing was wrong, he sees the car turn the corner and head in Soda's direction again._

_Steve stops dead in his tracks and watches the car follow Soda._

_Steve signs and follows the car. This time, he power-walked to the corner and peeked his head around to see what's happening without being noticed._

_Before he had time to comprehend what's happening, he saw a Soc' with a pipe looking thing slam it against the side of Soda's head._

* * *

"Damn it, Soda," Steve whispers when he slips out of his hold and falls to the ground. Steve reaches over, grabs hold of both of Soda's arms and pulls him to his feet again. He sways a little and begins to fall again. Luckily, this time Steve was ready, and was able to catch him before he came into contact with the cool ground.

"Soda," Steve calls, tapping the side of Soda's head lightly. Soda sighs and lifts his head to the voice that's calling him.

"Steve?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's me," Steve replies.

Soda closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath.

"You're spinning, Steve," Soda says, bring his hand over his eyes.

Steve nods. " I know, I know, but you're gonna be okay," Steve replies.

Soda looks around and the blurry image in front of him, then looks over at his friend.

"What happened?" he asks.

* * *

_Without making a sound, Steve heads to the group of guys surrounding Soda, with only his fists to protest him._

_"Hey!" he calls, feeling anger burning up inside of him._

_All of the boys turn around, shocked to see someone coming after them._

_"Who the hell are you?" one asks. Instead of an answer, he receives a hard punch in the mouth then a kick to the stomach by Steve._

_Soon, all of the boys were coming after Steve, ready to fight. Steve felt his pockets as quickly as he could._

_Come on, come on, he screams in his head. He felt his back pocket and almost jumped for joy. Two-Bit's blade._

_After a short discussion with Two-Bit about the situation with George, Two-Bit recommended that he borrow this for a couple of days. Steve as careful to not tell Two-Bit about Amanda and her problems with George, but he told him about George and how he seemed to be after Soda lately._

_"Take this," Two-Bit had said. "You'll need this more that I will; but don't get into trouble with it, it's for protection only" he'd told him, making himself crystal clear about the use of his knife._

_And Steve's so happy that he did._

_Steve flipped the blade out and waved it around._

_"You still wanna fight?! C'mon then!" he yelled._

_The Soc's backed away, suddenly frightened by Steve and Two-Bit's knife._

_"C'mon then! C'mon!" taunted Steve, stepping closer to the Soc's._

_Soon, they were gone. They'd jumped back into their car and sped down the road and into the night._

_Closing the knife and replacing it back into his pocket, Steve runs to his best friend, hoping he's alright_

* * *

"I can walk, Steve," Soda insists when it's obvious that it's a lie.

"Sure you can," Steve says, finding it easier to agree with everything that Soda says until he gets him home.

Both were quiet for a while, but soon Soda began to speak again.

"Steve," he whispers, resting his head on his shoulder as they walk.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry," Soda says.

Steve shrugs.

"For what?" he asks.

"Everything," Soda replies in a slurred and sleepy voice. "Amanda; George; the Soc's; stealing you're red truck in second grade….everything."

Steve couldn't help but smile.

"It's okay," he reassures him. "Don't worry about that. You're home now," Steve says, helping Soda walk up the steps to him home.

**_

* * *

_**

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**_a/n... i hope this chapter didn't confuse you. Basically the writing that's in italics is what had happened and the writing thats normal is what's happening on their ride home. I'm so, so , so sorry if it doesn't look right, but the computer wouldn't let me do it the way that i wanted. =(_**


	18. Chapter 18

**_I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE LAST CHAPTER; IF YOU DIDN'T, THEN I HAVE NOTHING TO TELL YOU =). AS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY LIKE THIS STORY, PLEASE ENJOY…_**

* * *

Steve boosted Soda up the last step and reached for the doorknob. In the dark, it was kind of hard to measure the distance between each step but in time they managed to make it to the top. Every once in a while a car would zoom past, but other than that there was no one outside besides the two friends.

After turning the door knob and pushing open the door, they entered the small house. No one was in the living room, but there was talking that could be heard in the next room. Trying to be quiet enough to buy them more time, Steve sat Soda down on the couch and took a seat next to him. He placed his hand on his shoulder and shook him.

"What do you want me to tell Darry?" questions Steve.

Soda looks over at Steve with tired eyes and shrugs. "I don't care anymore," he says then closes his eyes again. Steve sits back in the couch and sighs.

"Well then I'll pick you up after track," Darry says.

"But I wanna go with Johnny."

"Pony, by the time track is over it'll be dark. I don't want you or Johnny walking home in the dark. You know how the Soc's have been lately, I don't need you or Soda getting hurt….," Darry finished his sentence just as he walked back into the Living Room. His voice trailed off when he spotted Steve and Soda sitting on the couch. He sees Sods hunched over, covering his eyes from the light, breathing heavily. And he sees Steve sitting paralyzed, his eyes shooting form Soda to Darry.

Darry's mouth drops open and his eyes go as big as pizzas. He moves zombie-like toward the with a shocked expression etched on his face.

"What. The hell. Happened?" he asks, his voice getting louder and louder with each word.

Steve jumps up, holding his hands out.

"Listen, listen,"he says, trying to think of something to tell Darry. "I can explain."

Darry pushes Steve out the way and walks over to Soda. He places his hand on Soda's back and lifts his head so that he's looking at him.

"I don't wanna hear what happened from you, I wanna hear it from him," Darry says, looking at Steve for a second then turning his attention back to Soda.

Steve shrugs but doesn't object.

"Soda, what happened?"

Soda squeezes his eyes and waves his hand. "Darry, stop yelling. Please," he says in a quiet, kid-like voice.

Darry looks down at him in confusion. "I wasn't," he says.

"Sounds like it to me," he replies.

Darry sighs. "Fine," he whispers. "What happened?" he repeats.

"Um, I was walking home," Soda explains in a quiet voice. " I see a car. I thought it was suspicious but at first it didn't stop. It went around the corner and kept going. But then it comes back again, this time a whole bunch of guys came out. The called for me and I turned around. Before I knew it, I felt this pain on the side of my head," Soda says. " I can't remember anything after that. The next thing I know, I'm with Steve and he's walking me home."

Darry takes a seat next to Soda with a look that's not completely certain.

"Steve, go get a wet towel. And tell Pony to bring one of Soda's shirts."

Without hesitation, Steve walks down the hall.

"Here, lay down," Darry suggests, gently pulling Soda back toward the couch.

Soda reaches his hand out and Darry stops.

"I'm okay," he insists.

Darry stands up. "You are not okay, Soda. Lay down, it's only going to make you feel better," Darry says. Giving in, Soda lays back and puts his hand over is eyes again. Darry looks down at him and shakes his head. He knows that that's not all that happened, he knows that something's going on with Soda that he doesn't want to tell him about, but he just wasn't sure of what it was.

Within minutes, Steve and Pony enter the room. Steve carrying the towel and Pony with the shirt slung over his shoulder.

"You alright, Soda?" asks Pony.

Soda nods, but doesn't speak a reply.

Darry takes the towel from Steve and places on the gash on the side of Soda's head. Suddenly, Soda jumps, shoves Darry away and covers the side of his head with his other hand.

"Stop," he commands in a begging voice.

Darry takes a step back, a little afraid t touch him again.

"Okay, Soda. Okay," he whispers. Moving on, he takes the shirt from Pony and walks back over to Soda more cautiously.

"Soda," he says. " You gotta change your shirt."

Darry takes his hand and pulls him into the sitting position. "Here." He hands him the shirt.

Soda begins to take off the bloodied shirt and put on the clean one when he suddenly comes to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Steve questions.

Before Soda had a chance to answer, he bends over and throws up.

All three's mouth drops down. Some in disgust, others in shock.

"Okay, that's enough," Darrys says, grabbing his car keys and pulling Soda to his feet.

"Where are we going?" Soda asks.

"You're going to the hospital."

"No," Soda objects.

Darry shakes his head, "There's no getting around this, Soda. You're going."

All four walk out the small house and into the truck in front of it.

**_&&*&&***&**&&*&&**&**&**&**&*&&*&&*&&*&&_**

"What? What the hell?!" shouts George into the receiver of the telephone. "What do you mean you didn't kill him?"

There was silence and the person on the other end talked.

"That's bull shit!" he shouts. " I gave you specific orders to kill him, no matter what, and you ran away because some punk had a knife? Damn it!"

The other person tries to explain but there's no chance.

"I don't give a damn! Forget it, just forget it. Obviously, you guys are a bunch of girls. I don't need you, I'll kill him myself!"

George slams the phone down and sits on his bed. Still blazing mad form the previous conversation, he lays down, closes his eyes, and plans his revenge on Sodapop Curtis.

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

**_

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_**

THANKS FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS ON THE LAST CHAPTER. PLEASE READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY...

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"It's been over a week since I've heard form her," says Soda. He leans back against his chair and looks down at the table. He plays with the placemat in front of him then drags his eyes back up to Steve who sits across from him, shaking his head.

"What?" Soda asks, seeing his friend's reaction to his worry.

Steve gives him hard stare before continuing. He rests his hands on the table. "Are you forgetting how you got that concussion and the stitches on the side of your head? Are you forgetting who bruised your ribs and made you lie to both Darry and Pony? Are you forgetting who made your life a complete mess? Huh? Soda, you can't be a hero o everyone."

Soda sighs. "I'm not trying to be a hero. I just- I just know how George can be," he replies lightly touching the six stitches on the left side of his head.

Steve stand abruptly and storms over to the counter, getting frustrated. " Damn it, Soda. You're going too far, man. I know you're a good guy, and I know you like helping people especially when they really need it, but this isn't something that you can stop. This isn't you're problem anymore."

Soda rolls his eyes and chuckles. "Thanks Darry," he says sarcastically.

Steve slams his hand down on the counter and sits back down at the table across form Soda.

"I'm not playing Soda. This is gonna get real ugly real fast and I don't want you caught in the middle of it when it happens. You've been through too much already for some girl you barely even know-,"

"I do know her Steve!" Soda cuts it. "I know her more than anyone ever will! I'm trying to be a good friend. God! You'd never understand."

Steve stands up again. "How many times do you have to be taken to the hospital before you realize that you cannot help this girl?"

Soda doesn't answer. He looks away from Steve, knowing he's right. Deep down he knows that he can't help Amanda. He knows there is no way that he could ever stop George. But something keeps telling him that he has to try. Something is telling him not to give up.

"Steve, I can't," Soda says in a quiet voice.

"Can't do what?"

"Stop. I can't stop helping her. I have to. I have to try or it wouldn't be fair to her," he says to his best friend, hoping her understood.

Steve is quiet for a moment.

"Yeah, sure," he says in an emotionless tone.

Both are silent, thinking about it. It was probably the closest they've ever come to being upset with each other. The tension made both boys uncomfortable.

Soon the silence was broken.

"Are you still gonna help me?" asks Soda, looking up at Steve.

He smiles and lays his hand on his shoulder.

"Sure," he says the heads for the door.

**&**&***&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**&**

"Kill him?! Daddy, you can't!" Amand begged. She watched her dad in his room. In the darkness of his room all she can see is his outline form the moonlight and his shadow packing things into a duffel bag.

He slings the bag over his shoulder and heads toward her.

"Out of my way," he says sternly but she doesn't move.

She stands stubbornly in the doorway, refusing to move until he sobered up.

"Daddy, you can't kill someone. It's not right," she says.

He growls and the smell of hard liquor and beer shoots from off of him.

"Life isn't right. You're not right. I'm not right. Everything can't be how you want it, bitch," he replies, trying to get past her again.

She puts her hands on his chest and attempts to keep him in place

"Daddy," she says quietly in a begging voice.

Without effort he gets past her and heads for the stairs.

She runs after him. Feeling brave, she grabs him by both shoulders and spins him around. There's tears in her eyes but she feels no fear at all.

Jerking her back, George spins around and grabs her by her shoulders. He gives her a hard shove and she goes stumbling back toward the staircase. She grabs frantically for the railing but it's not use. Her momentum is pushing her backward and she falls toward the steps.

Hitting head first, she screams for the second that she could. She hits heard and the rest of her body slams against each step before coming to a sudden stop at the bottom of the steps.

At the top of the staircase, George stands there paralyzed. He stand there frozen, after hearing every unnatural crack and slam his daughter's body made as she hit each step. But now she lay there, still and relaxed.

For the first time in years, George feel pain. His bag slips off his arm and her stumbles back toward to the wall. He slides down it not sure of how to feel. His heart begins to beat faster and faster and he begins to feel a sensation behind his eyes that he hasn't felt in a while.

He brings his hand to his eyes and feels the wetness that drips from it. He arches his back and looks down the stairs again. Still she doesn't move and George finds himself crying harder.

He burys his head and begins to cry even harder, wishing he could take it all back.

"Oh my God," he crys into his hands and into the darkness of the house, "what've I done?"

* * *

**_DUN DUN DUNNNNNN LOL. I HOPE YOU LIKED IT. ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT SO MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW!_**

**_OH….SOMEHOW, I ERASED 'ADDICTED' WHICH MADE ME REALLY MAD, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT BECAUSE I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE. FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN READING IT, I'M SORRY BUT I GUESS IT'S GONE?_**


	20. Chapter 20

**LAST CHAPTER! ENJOY!**

* * *

Through the shaded widows he saw the flashing lights. He heard the sirens and heard the car doors slam shut. At the top of the stairs he looked up and knew that it was over, he knew that his whole life was over.

There was silence but there was a very faint tapping of footsteps approaching the front door. George rests his head to the wall and lets out a deep breath, there's no getting out of this and no amount of alcohol can drown it out. This was something he always seen coming but he was never sure when.

But now is the time that he's going to have to pay.

There was a knocking on the door.

"Tulsa Police Department!" a man shouted from the other side of the door.

George stands and walks zombie-like toward the door. Many options crossed his mind: he could make a run for it, go out the back door or maybe the second floor window. He could try to fight the cops, but there was no telling how many were out there. He would try to sweet talk himself out of the situation but there is nothing that he could say. One look at Amanda on the floor could tell you all you wanted to know.

There was a pounding on the door and another shout. Without hesitation, George opened the door.

Three cops stood on his doorstep, awaiting his arrival.

"We were informed of a disturbance on your property, possible domestic violence," stated one cop.

The other two cops looked past George and into his house.

"May we come in; to make sure everything's alright?"

_Don't do it! Close the door! Close the damn door, George!_ He screamed in his mind, but there was no use in listening to it, he was going to jail and he knew it. .

George opened the door wider and the three cops entered the room, all looking around, checking everything out.

"We won't be here long, just making sure everything alright….oh my God!" exclaimed the shortest cop. Obviously, he's spotted Amanda laying on the floor. He runs to her and crouches down beside her. In shock, he looks up at George then back at her, then he looks over at his two cop friends then back at Amanda.

The two other cops rush over to her, aiding to her.

"Oh God. . . ," the tallest cops voice trails off, he stands up and walks away.

The cop reaches to the back of his belt and unhooks his handcuffs.

"Sir, put your hands behind your back, please."

George stares at him with a dumbfounded look on his face. He sees the front door open and smiles slightly. He takes one more look at Amanda and then bolts out the door. He didn't get for though, barely past the front step before the cop came running behind him. As quickly as he could he straps the handcuffs on George.

The cop and George walk to the cop car awaiting them in front of the house. He places George in the backseat and heads back into the house.

"How is she?" he asks, scratching the side of his head.

The shortest cop looks up with sad eyes.

"She's dead."

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

Something was wrong, he knew something was wrong. He couldn't sleep last night. Something happened, but he couldn't understand what happened.

Rolling out of bed from a sleepless night, Soda heads into the kitchen. . From the corner of his eye he sees Darry , Pony , and Two-Bit standing in front of the television, looking at it was a shocked expression on it.

Slowly, he walks into the Living Room to see what everyone was looking at.

"….she was found dead when the police arrived. There was nothing they could do. The father of the deceased girl seems to be the only suspect. Neighbors say that there were screams and yelling that could be heard all the way down the block. They say it was regular to hear the two arguing, but last night it seemed more than usual.

A frightened neighbor called the Tulsa Police Department, scared by the noise. The father of the girl, reportedly, ran out of the house when he was being placed under arrest. He is now in custody of the Police, awaiting further news.

That's all information we have for now, I'm Debra Henning, Reporting for channel five news."

Soda can feel his jaw drop. Amanda? No, no, it can't be. Can it? He shakes his head in disbelief.

I can't believe it, he thinks, Amanda's dead?

___________________________________________________________

Soda pounds on Steve's front door frantically. Within seconds Steve's at the door, wondering what the problem is.

"What?" he asks.

"I- I need you to come with me," Soda says , his voice full of worry.

Steve looks around.

"Where?" he questions.

"I heard the news this morning, and I got to go see Amanda, I have to make sure she's alright."

"Dude," Steve says, "You got to quit worrying about this girl. She's nothing but trouble. She's gonna get you killed one day." Steve lays his hand on Soda's shoulder.

He brushes the hand off. "Don't say kill," he says seriously.

"Why? What's this about?"

"Amanda. I- I got to go. Are you coming with me or what?" asks Soda, beginning to walk away.

Steve reaches on the wall and grabs his jacket. "Yeah, I'm coming."

___________________________________________________________

The two boys stare at Amanda's house. There's 'caution' tape from tree to tree, surrounding the perimeter of the house. There's reporters trying to get the best story and theres small children and nosy adult trying to figure out what happened. Some cops do their best try keep the people back and out of the way but it isn't really working. Cop cars surround the house and they move briskly in and out of the house.

There are paramedics and specialized cops that are there to figure out what happened, exactly how it happened.

"We just recently got a confession from the father. He's admitted everything and is willing to change. But he's going to be spending most of the rest of his life in jail. But I guess he deserves it. I don't understand a man who can kill his own daughter," states a cop speaking into the recorder for the news reporters.

Soda looks at the floor, suddenly feeling winded.

"So it's true," Soda says. "She's dead Steve, George killed her."

Steve shakes his head. "Man, I can't believe it."

Soda softly hits Steve in the stomach and gestures with his hand. "Come on, let's go," he says.

While walking they were completely silent, not sure of what to say or how to feel. They didn't really know her personally to feel pain the way they would if they lost a family member or a close friend, but she wasn't a stranger either and the three were connected on a level that can't really be described. Amanda died knowing that Soda and Steve did all they could to help her. Soda and Steve would never know this, but she died happy. She was happy to have known Soda, she was happy to know that someone cared, and as her head hit the floor and she felt the pain rush through her body, she smiled. She smiled because she knew that it was all over, she could be happier in her next life.

"Wait, stop," Soda says. He walks to the one red rose growing in the soon-to-be garden. Soda smiles, he couldn't help but smile. He crouches down to the floor and gently pulls it out the ground. He holds it softly in his hands and presses it against him for a second.

The two friends continue to walk until they come to the street that they first met Amanda on. They walk to the streetlight that they found her on. As they get closer they see that there's still dried blood on it that she left.

Soda reached out and touches the blood. He takes in a slow deep breath and lets it out just as slow.

Soda looks back at Steve. "Can I, um, have a minute Steve?"

Steve nods slightly and walks away.

When finally alone, Soda sits down in front of the streetlight and sigh.

"I guess this is goodbye? I'm sorry I didn't get to see you, but I didn't know how to find you. I really wish that I could've helped you, I really wish I could, but then I think about how happy you must be right now and I'm kind of happy I couldn't.

You have been through so much Amanda, stuff that you shouldn't have to have delt with but you did. Better than I would have. I know that here is no way to tell you now, and I know that I haven't told you in person, but I'm really proud of you.

I know you thought that you couldn't go through this alone but I know you could and you did. You are the type of person that is unique, the type of person that a lot try to be. The type of person I'd like to be some day."

Soda plays with the rose in his hand.

" I brought you something," he whispers, " You said you always wanted someone to bring you roses, so here they are."

Soda lays the rose on the ground right next to the streetlight. Soda closes his eyes and tried to fight the tears from falling from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm sorry you lived such a hard life, but I'm not sorry that I got to live some of it with you."

He stands, rubbing the dry blood on the light again.

He sighs, looks back at Steve and wipes a stray tear away.

"You know it's impossible to forget you, right?" he asks with a smile, " But I guess I don't want to, I want to remember you. And even if I didn't, I could never forget you."

"Soda!" Steve calls, waving him back.

"I guess I got to go now, but I'll be back. Just know that I'll miss you ."

Soda kisses his hand and lays it on the rose before beginning to walk.

"Goodbye Amanda _Rose_."

* * *

WELL KIDS, IT'S OVER. HAPPY ENDING? SAD ENDING? EITHER WAY IT'S AN ENDING. IT'S SAD THAT IT'S OVER BUT I CAN'T WAIT TO START A NEW STORY! (EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS YET.)

ANYWAY, IT'S BEEN FUN, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT IN THERE 20 CHAPTERS, BUT IT'S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE.

SO, DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER!

PLEASE REVIEW.


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